Doctor Bunnymund
by Macetree
Summary: Gravity beat traction as the logs began tumbling down onto a wide-eyed North. Bunny's feet slipped on the ice, forcing him to make a second desperate scramble in order to leap to intervene just milliseconds before the logs crushed them both in a deadly downpour. E. Aster Bunnymund is hella tough, but even he has limits.
1. Doctor Bunnymund

Chapter 1

**Doctor Bunnymund**

_Takes place at the Pole directly following the events of the movie_

Bunny was looking at the guardians around him, a half smile on his face. Sandy was alive, Jack was now a guardian, North and his yetis were back in business and Tooth was flittering around with the largest grin the group had ever seen. Jack was laughing too, flying up around the glowing globe with the fairies, or sometimes settling down to chat a little with the other guardians. It was chaos, certainly; but it was good chaos. Bunny and North were catching Sandy up while standing in a triangle near the fireplace. In all honesty, it was mostly North talking, Sandy asking questions and Bunny getting distracted.

"Jack, you have to promise to visit us whenever you can!" said Tooth. Bunny's left ear twitched and his eyes turned from his current conversation to watch Tooth and Jack flittering around in the air.

"Only if you promise to let me collect teeth with you!" laughed Jack.

Bunny's eyes narrowed slightly and his half smile had disappeared. Sandy stopped listening to North's side of the conversation for a moment as he focused on Bunny. Of all of the guardians, the Pooka looked the most tired, which concerned the giver of dreams. Despite this, the rabbit's back was rigid and straight now, when only a moment ago he had looked relaxed. His eyes were looking past North and darting between Tooth and Jack, his dark eyebrows furrowing slightly. North, of course, was completely oblivious to any changes in his furry or sandy friends. He was giving his own narration of what had happened while Sandy had been "dead," and was explaining a very dramatic moment with a robust laugh. The large man slapped Bunny on the back, causing him to nearly lose his balance and definitely lose his concentration. The rabbit pasted his usual smile onto his face, and made his trademark "Heh-heh-heh" laughing sound, feigning the listener.

Sandy continued the conversation by getting the attention of the Russian and Aussie with a little golden flag. When they were both looking, he made some Easter eggs, and children with baskets looking under bushes, followed by a question mark. He looked expectantly at Bunny with his eyebrows furrowed and his hands open, waiting for an answer.

"Ah, Easter? Well, it didn't go well, mate. Pitch's nightmares flooded the tunnels and wrecked everything." Bunny shrugged and looked away for a second before turning back and smiling "But, it all worked out in the end, and that's what matters." North agreed, then continued with his account of what had happened during Sandy's absence.

Sandy nodded along, but only paid half attention as he kept noticing Bunny glance at Tooth and Jack, who were now in what seemed to be an earnest conversation several feet away in the air. The rabbit sighed quietly, his shoulders and gaze lowering. He blinked a few times before looking back at Tooth, and gave a sad smile, then turned his eyes back to North. Sandy sent a questioning look to Bunny, but the rabbit didn't notice.

"Ah, we are out of eggnog! I will bring more," said North a moment later, and he turned to go to the kitchens.

The group was settled into what North called the "meeting room", which was where the guardians had first met when he had sent out the lights a few days earlier. There were a dining table and chairs on one side, and a few couches on the other, with a colossal fireplace in between. The trio had been chatting in front of the fireplace, and Jack and the fairies were flittering around the globe and above the control panel.

As the large man left, Bunny turned his attention to Sandy and said "I'm glad you're alright, mate. What exactly happened when Pitch shot you with that arrow? It looked like you disappeared."

Sandy smiled at the concern of his friend, and shrugged. He made a sand picture of himself transitioning into many different shapes, and then a picture of him getting shot, and changing himself into sand before an hourglass ran out of time. "You converted into sand before dying?" he guessed. Sandy nodded.

Bunny looked thoughtful, "how did you come back?" Sandy's eyebrows pressed down in thought as he frowned.

He made a compass, with its needle spinning in circles, then a clock with its hands spinning too. "You didn't know where you were or what time it was. . ." translated Bunny. Sandy nodded and showed a slightly transparent version of himself looking around, stuck in a tornado of sand. Suddenly, his miniature self perked up, and made binoculars to look at a flashing light outside of the tornado. He flew towards it and pushed himself out of the tornado, his transparency converting into solid sand. Mini Sandy was soon joined by the other guardians.

"Ah," said Bunny. "I think I get the idea." He smiled, then added in a serious voice "have you experienced any side effects?"

Sandy laughed silently at his friend's worried look, and shook his head.

Bunny smiled again and held his hands up as if surrendering "I know I wouldn't be able to do much for you if you had, but it doesn´t hurt to check!"

"Check what?" said a curious voice. Sandy turned his head to see a smiling Jack Frost leaning on his staff. Looking past Jack, he saw Tooth ordering around a swarm of fairies.

"Check to be sure that Sandy's alright" said Bunny in a casual tone. "In fact, I was meaning to talk to you about that, Frost" said Bunny.

Jack's head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Sandy made a picture of Bunny wearing a doctor's coat, and with a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand. Jack cocked his head to the other side, and guessed "Bunny got hurt?" to which Bunny scoffed, but kept his half smile and folded his arms.

"No, mate. I'm the healer of the group. And, since you're new, I need to do some tests on you so that I know what to do if you get hurt."

Jack looked surprised and pleased, and then a smirk replaced the smile. "Aw, you really are just as soft on the inside as you are fluffy on the outside!"

Bunny was in the midst of smirking and making a comeback when North and two of his yetis returned; North with a tray of refreshments, and the yetis hefting an unbelievably large faggot of logs in front of him. He asked them to bring more wood up before walking over to stand by Bunny, offering the tray to the guardians. Bunny, as usual, refused anything to drink. Sandy accepted a cup in each hand, Jack took a cup and was looking at it curiously as Tooth came up and took one for herself. North had a mug in one hand and the tray in the other.

"So, what are we talking about?" asked North before taking a gulp of eggnog.

"Sandy was telling me that Bunny here is a nurse" commented Jack without looking up from the contents of his mug. He had a smirk on his face as Bunny bristled at the comment.

"I'm a doctor, mate. Certified in multiple cultures, in fact," he said.

North let out a boisterous laugh at this, and elbowed Bunny in the side as he was examining his claws. "Yes, he is our Doctor Bunnymund. But do not become careless, Jack. If you think Bunny is strict and mean now, you will be surprised if you ever have need of his expertise."

Bunny raised an eyebrow at this, and looked North in the eye with a frown on his face. "Now hold on a second! If you weren't such a stubborn, opinionated dill when you're injured, I wouldn't have to be strict." Bunny answered smoothly, his frown morphing into a small smile.

North just laughed and Tooth fluttered up.

"He's right, Bunny. You know everything there is to know about medicine, but your bedside manner is sometimes lacking," she said.

Bunny turned to look at her and was about to respond, when he froze.

His eyes widened slightly, and the temperature suddenly dropped. North was still chuckling and sipping his drink, which is why he didn't notice Bunny, Sandy and Jack with their shocked faces. He also failed to notice Tooth, who was now chattering to a mini fairy next to her head, which was normal enough.

Except that she was holding Jack's hand. Not in an awkward way, no. As normally as a duck would float in water, her fingers interlaced securely with his.

Jack himself looked the most surprised, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his white hair as he stared at his hand intertwined with Tooth's, ice spreading out from where his feet met the floor.

"Yes, bad bedside manner, that is phrase!" laughed the large man, still not noticing his friends reactions.

He also missed the growing sheet of ice that was creeping across the floor they all stood upon.

The same two yetis from before were now walking towards the fireplace, again with an enormous bundle of logs (the average diameter being about ten inches) resting upon their broad shoulders. Tooth was now giving orders to five more fairies who had appeared, not caring about the reactions of the others, or (more likely), not noticing her own hand´s action. The three stunned males were still staring at her hand as it grasped Jack's, and North was taking a step backwards in order to avoid a sneaky group of elves who were making an elf tower in order to steal some eggnog. Many things happened within only a few seconds just then.

Time slowed as North stepped back. He bumped into the log-laden yetis and Bunny's attention snapped from Tooth's hand, to North. The yetis, who were usually very adept at walking carefully on ice, were knocked off balance by North.

Bunny turned to face the logs, his back now to the rest of the group, and his arm extending behind Jack. North had now slipped (rather gracefully considering the icy floor) to one knee, but was trying to get back up onto both feet while still balancing the tray and his mug. The yetis were trying and failing to regain their balance, with the logs still perched precariously on their shoulders.

Bunny's right arm pushed Jack, and by extension, Tooth, away from the yetis and North, and into Sandy.

Gravity beat friction as the logs began tumbling off of the yetis´ shoulders and onto the wide-eyed Russian, who was now facing the yetis, still on one knee. The tray and the mug fell to the floor, and his hands shot up in a futile attempt to defend himself. Bunny leaped to push the logs away from North (or North away from the logs, Sandy wasn´t sure which), but he slipped on the ice, falling to all fours.

He made a desperate scramble to launch himself at North´s head, just milliseconds before the logs crushed them both in a deadly downpour.

Time sped up as Sandy dropped his mugs and used a sand net to pull Tooth, Jack and the elves away from the logs that were now avalanching in their direction.

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_Hello fellow fans! I hope the first chapter of Doctor Bunnymund has captured your interest. This story, obviously, is all about our Easter Bunny. I will be diving into his past, his present, his troubles, and especially his relationships with the other guardians. I love showing these characters interact with each other, and I prefer to let my readers hold the reigns when it comes to labelling emotion. . . In other words, don't expect me to spoon-feed all of the information to you; you'll have to make your own inferrences. If that kind of thing bothers you, then I suggest you ignore this one when I update it._

_I would love to know what you think about each chapter as I post them, so please give me plenty of feedback. I've got a thick skin, so if you have constructive criticism, don't be afraid to be blunt about it. If there is a part that is confusing of awkward, please tell me so that I can fix it!_

_Also, I'll try to give you a prompt to inspire more reviews. I want to know what you feel when you read this story!_

_I don't own ROTG. If I did, I wouldn't be posting this story here. _


	2. Bad Bedside Manner

Chapter 2

**Bad Bedside Manner**

Sandy, Tooth, Jack and the Yetis sprang into action before the sand settled. Jack focused on melting his ice, his face still looking shocked, but now in an urgent, panicked way. Tooth zoomed over to where North and Bunny were covered by the still moving logs, and tried to prevent further damage. The yetis and Sandy were attempting to heft the logs off of the two others. It looked like North was laying on his back and Bunny´s furry body was miraculously wrapped partially around North´s upper chest and head.

Sandy tried not to worry as he worked. Immortals were tough, and it took a lot to damage them physically. But, he had seen his original comrades get seriously injured before, and those logs were very heavy.

Progress was quick, and Sandy´s worries were soon lessened as he saw Bunny´s legs moving and North grunting and sputtering something along the lines of ". . . fur out of mouth!" as he tried to push the remaining logs off of himself.

"I think they´re ok!" shouted Tooth, and Jack joined them in looking relieved.

The yetis and Sandy pulled the last log off, revealing Bunny, rising to his hands and knees next to North´s head. He was gasping in short, shallow breaths, and had a look of intense concentration on his face. North was groaning and still lying down on his back, but was rubbing his hand on his face the way a woman does when she has an invisible hair stuck in her mouth. The elves watched intently from the sidelines.

The yetis were garbling something earnestly (probably an apology) and looking stricken. North was soon reassuring them, and groaning in turns. Bunny was still on his hands and knees, but looking at his friend now.

"Don´t move," he said, pushing down on North´s shoulder as he tried to sit up. "Did anyone else get hit?" Bunny asked in a strained, quiet voice.

He was looking up at Sandy, who did a double-take around him and shook his head.

Bunny nodded in acknowledgement, and accepted a hand up from Jack who looked just as upset as the yetis.

"I´m so sorry guys, I didn´t mean to ice everything over!" said Jack, anxiety clearly written on his face. Bunny was now on his feet, moving slowly.

"Don´t sweat it, mate, accidents happen," answered Bunny quietly. He patted Jack on the back gently before turning to North, who was again attempting to sit up.

"I told you not to move, ya gumby," said Bunny as he pushed the Russian down again, but this time with one of his enormous furry feet. He put a bit of his weight on it as the large man tried to wiggle out from underneath.

North now had a determined expression on his face "I am fine, there is no problem!" he insisted.

Bunny crossed his arms and his nose twitched, saying only "I´m not stupid, mate," in reply. "Yetis, one of you go and get me the emergency med kit," he ordered, then he removed his foot and crouched down to look North in the eyes, holding one eyelid open at a time with a furry finger.

A few of the elves followed quickly after the yeti, their hat bells bouncing and ringing frantically as they went.

"What hurts?" asked Bunny, in a no nonsense tone.

North looked up at Jack and let out a small chuckle. "You see what I mean? Bad bedside manners." A small smile crept up on the teen´s face as a frown settled onto Bunny´s.

"North, tell me what hurts so we can get this over with," pressed Bunny as he fished through the satchel he had strapped to his back. He retrieved what appeared to be a round obsidian stone, no more than three inches in diameter, and placed it next to him on the ground.

North rolled his eyes, and said "I think only right leg is damage." Bunny nodded, then moved his hands to probe North´s skull gently.

"Your head didn´t get hit?" he asked.

"Yes it did. By your ribs!" said North.

Bunny ignored this and moved his quick investigation to North´s ribs and abdomen.

"No concussion then" he said evenly.

Tooth and Jack were watching quietly as Sandy patted Jack on the shoulder. Jack was clearly still upset, but was making a conscious effort to keep his ice restrained.

Sandy made an image of a snowflake, with a checkmark by it. Tooth saw this and translated "don´t worry Jack. This was an accident, and you´re not at fault."

Jack shuddered and nodded. Sandy gave Tooth a "take him out for a break" look, and she nodded, pulling Jack away and out of one of the windows.

Sandy moved over to watch Bunny work. He was now using the retractable claws on his hand to carefully rip open North´s pant leg just below the knee. He then relaxed his hand, hiding the claws, and removed North´s big black boot carefully.

"Focus, North. Where else does it hurt?"

North now shuddered and winced, shaking his head.

"Is just this leg, but hurts very much" he answered.

Bunny hummed in reply as he picked up the small black stone and crouched over North´s shin. Sandy was fascinated and disturbed by the new shape that North´s leg had taken. It was clearly broken, with the bone jutting out just barely, blood dripping lazily from the wound.

"Sandy, prop his head up with a pillow and bring some water, soap, and thick blankets" ordered Bunny without looking up. "Jack, I need a cube of ice," he added, not noticing that Jack was gone.

He was now using the stone like a microscope, holding it up to his right eye as his left screwed shut, and moving it slowly over where the bones in North´s leg were, keeping his face mere inches from the damaged skin and tapping the stone now and then with one furry finger. Sandy flew off to find a pillow, some water, blankets, ice and the soap. The thought crossed his mind, not for the first time, that he needed to ask Bunny to let him look through that strange rock sometime. Obviously not now, since he didn´t want to get his head bitten off by the merciless Doctor Bunnymund.

By the time he rushed back, North was sweating and the yeti had returned with a large first aid kit. The elves were close behind, led by their only rainbow-colored comrade as they proudly toted a collection of white bandage rolls above their heads.

North was still bleeding, but compared to most of the wounds that Sandy had seen, it was very little blood. Bunny was telling North to take deep, even breaths, as he sifted through the large kit. He set splints, sutures, alcohol, gauze, a tourniquet and some other things aside in neat order. He was shrugging off the elves attempts to push the bandage rolls into his hands, and he had North´s left leg propped up on one of the fallen logs, which puzzled Sandy. As he landed his sand cloud, Bunny glanced up quickly.

"Make sure his upper body is comfortable, and all but this leg is warm. And try to help him keep calm. Talk to him," ordered Bunny as he shooed the meddlesome elves away.

Sandy nodded, and did as he was told.

North was now sweating and grimacing, his hands clenching into fists. Sandy patted him on the forehead and tried to make himself useful by demonstrating how to breath for his injured friend. It seemed to work, because North copied his breathing pace with a strained smile. Sandy distracted North by asking him what his favorite thing about Christmas was. It took North a few tries to translate the question, and a little longer to consider and give his answer.

During this, Bunny had his back toward North´s head, discreetly hiding the syringe that he was preparing with what Sandy assumed to be a painkiller. Sandy smirked at Bunny´s sneakiness, but kept North distracted. He watched Bunny out of the corner of his eye as the pooka applied the tourniquet and found a vein in North´s leg. He hid the syringe and used the ice cube to poke North´s leg in random places. His patient noticed at first, but after seeing that it was only ice, he ignored the pooka.

After a lot of poking, Bunny sterilized the target area quickly using a cold alcohol swab, and continued poking North´s leg with the ice. He watched his patient for a moment, but by now North was completely engrossed with describing the most delicious cookies a child had ever left for him.

A small smirk flashed across Bunny´s face just before he inserted the needle and injected the serum slowly, all whilst continuing to poke with the ice. He then pulled the needle out, removed the tourniquet and disposed of the syringe. Sandy had to stop himself from laughing at North´s obliviousness, and made himself a mental note to congratulate the doctor on a job well done.

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_**By the way, my Mr. Sandman, I'm So Alone story goes alongside this one. You should read it and leave a review if you like it, though it takes place a few months after this chapter.**_

_**What emotions did you feel when you read this? **_

_**Why do you think Bunny poked North's leg with the ice cube?**_

_**I'll be back next week with another chapter, so please check in again then!**_

_**Reviews are appreciated!**_


	3. On Five 1 2 3

Chapter 3

**On Five. 1. . . 2. . . 3.**

Bunnymund took one last look through his rock at the broken shin, then double checked the supplies he had at hand. He gently shooed the insistent elves again, then nodded to himself.

He took a strap of leather from his collection of stuff and said "alright North, it´s almost time." He crawled up to check North´s eyes again. "You know the drill. Focus on relaxing, but if you need to, squeeze the blanket with your hands," he said.

North moaned and said "I know you are enjoying this, Bunny, but I need more minutes to prepare."

Bunny put the leather in North´s shaking hand and moved back to the leg, deciding how to best place himself.

"Your adrenaline is going to run out soon, which will make your brain register the pain more than it is now." The pooka paused for a moment and raised his brows casually at North before continuing. "You know, I don´t want you to pass out like last time. . . but if you really want me to, I could inject you with something to numb the leg. . ."

North didn´t even consider the proposal, instead shaking his head emphatically.

"No needles, I can handle pain" he assured, and wedged the leather between his teeth as Sandy struggled to hide his silent laughter.

"Fine then, since you´re sure," said Bunny as he exchanged a silent knowing look with Sandy. North groaned, but squeezed both his eyes shut and the blanket as ordered.

Bunny got into position and looked around.

"Where´s Tooth and Jack?" he asked, seriousness taking over again.

Sandy felt a surge of guilt and panic, and made a sand Jack, a frowny face, and himself pointing to a window, then sand Jack and Tooth flying away.

Annoyance crossed Bunny´s face. "Damn it, I needed them," he said, before looking down at North, appearing to re-assess his plan. He turned to the yeti´s, who were acting rather odd. They looked distressed, but they kept their gazes averted from North and, especially, his broken leg.

"I know you lot get queasy, but I need one of you to hold him down so I can do this properly," said Bunny.

The yetis whimpered, but the one who had fetched the kit elbowed the other one, who gave a sigh of sad resignation and came over, still avoiding eye contact with what little blood there was.

After instructing the yeti on where to hold, Bunny hesitated for half a second, then looked at Sandy.

"Sandy, come help me."

Sandy nodded, a little too enthusiastically, and floated over, motioning for the pushy bandage-bearing elves to leave the doctor alone, again.

"I need you to hold here," he pressed Sandy´s hand down firmly on North´s knee, causing a yell from the Russian. Bunny released Sandy´s hand, but Sandy kept it pushed down, "and be ready to press this, against here, as soon as I tell you to. It´s going to hurt him, but it must be done. Got it?"

Sandy nodded, taking the bundle of gauze in his other hand and positioned himself accordingly.

"Also, here´s a tourniquet. If he starts bleeding, and I don´t think he will, I´ll tie the tourniquet, but I´ll need you to hold here and press hard while I do, got it?"

Sandy nodded again and tried to hide his excitement at this experience.

"Alright, on five," said Bunny as he looked at Sandy and raised three fingers. Sandy nodded and made a determined face. Bunny took a slow breath and grasped the lower end of the limb, ensuring another yell from North.

"One, two, three."

On three, Bunny smoothly pulled and pushed the broken bones back into place, North screamed, the yeti shrieked and Sandy pushed the gauze against the wound, as ordered. North yelled something about counting, malpractice and damn rabbits, but it was hard to understand him clearly.

Bunny ignored him as he quickly used the rock again to assess the break. A minute later, Jack and Tooth flew back in as Bunny was still examining the shin from various angles.

He was frowning.

"Fibula's back, tibia needs an extra nudge. Sandy, yeti, hold again."

North started wiggling and protesting loudly but was still ignored as Bunny pulled and pushed a different part of his leg. Jack's face became even paler than usual and North released a shaky yell. In less than five seconds Bunny was reaching for his stone again.

"Gam uu babbib mam!" shrieked North, among other things.

Bunny didn't seem to notice as he crouched down, his face pressed to the stone.

"Well done everyone," he said calmly after a moment. "Both are back in place. Now I just have to clean and stitch you up," he said, looking up and patting North on the foot.

The elves took this as their cue, gleefully rushing to the doctor with the bandages.

North groaned and pulled the leather out of his mouth.

"I hate you very, very, very so much you mean, giant, evil rabbit man!" he hissed as the yeti backed away, shuddering.

Bunny glanced carelessly at his patient as he waved the elves away yet again. "You´re gonna hate me even more when I start suturing," he said lightly as he removed the gauze Sandy had pressed against the leg.

"Is easy! Just use superglue and is done!" insisted North. "Is bad use needle if no need!"

Doctor Bunnymund ignored him.

"Lucky for you, the skin is not badly cut. You should only need a few, but they´ll be deep. Sandy, mix the soap and the water, quickly" he ordered as he looked through and tapped the stone once again.

The small man obeyed quickly, but still watched the him work from the corner of his eye.

Sandy thought that the doctor looked like a cartoon character following an ant trail with a magnifying glass as he examined the leg through the rock. His weight was distributed on his enormous toes and his left elbow, with his cotton tail like a dollop of whip cream on top of a fluffy blue dessert. This time he pressed the stone barely against the skin, making North wince and curse him some more.

Tooth and Jack came up, Tooth looking apologetic and Jack still looking pale and leaning on his staff.

"What can we do to help?" asked Tooth.

Bunny looked up, "you´re a little late, but. . . make Jack lie down and cover him with a blanket. Don´t let him get up" he said after eyeing Jack for no more than two seconds.

Jack resisted, but Tooth pulled him over to the couch and covered him as ordered.

"Keep his feet elevated," called Bunny as he began to check the supplies he had laid out before. The elves pushed their cargo into his hands again, and pointed sternly at him. He rolled his eyes and added their bandages to the line, shooing them away when they protested.

They stole the bandages back and glared at him, but retreated a little ways to wait.

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_How did you feel when Bunny ordered Jack to go rest on the couch? Why do you think he did that?_

_What do you think about the interaction between Tooth and Jack during these last 3 chapters?_

_Who do you sympathize with so far, Bunny or North? _

_If this happened to you, would you act stubbornly like North, or strictly like Bunnymund? _

_Have you ever been in a situation like this? What happened? How did you respond?_

_Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and follow the story! I'm aiming to post a new chapter weekly, but I will be writing a few side-stories that go along with this one. So, I might eventually take a week for another Sandman short story chapter, and the I'll come back to this, and so forth._

_By the way, my **Mr. Sandman, I'm So Alone** story goes along with this one. You should read it!_

_Fun fact: Easter Gift is a direct excerpt from this story, but it wont show up for a while yet._

_Did I mention that reviews are appreciated? ;)_

_They make me so happy._

_Also, I'm working on another cover image for this story, and hopefully I'll be done with it in a week or two. Soooo, keep that in mind to make it easier for you to recognize this story when I end up changing the picture and updating._


	4. Perfect Scene

Chapter 4

**Perfect Scene**

Thirty minutes and many Russian curse words later, Bunny stood stiffly, shaking a hand roughly at the elves when they ventured towards him, still holding the bandages. He turned and asked a yeti to fetch the wheelchair they had made for North years ago and gave some instructions to another yeti who nodded and hurried away. He then made his way over to Tooth and Jack. North was glaring at Bunny as he passed, but was otherwise relieved that the rabbit was stalking away to terrorize someone else. Sandy had mopped up the blood and broken dishes from the floor, and helped with fascination as Bunny had stitched and cleaned the wound, but was now asleep and floating near North.

Tooth looked up from giving orders to her fairies next to Jack when she saw Bunny walk slowly over. He looked tired, but gave a slight smile when Jack looked up at him.

"You´re not good with blood either, eh Frosty?" asked Bunny.

Jack shrugged, and rolled his eyes. "Can I get up now? You didn´t have to order me to lie down just to keep me out of the way, you know. You could´ve just asked," said Jack.

Bunny crouched next to the couch and touched Jack´s neck with the back of one of his ears, and his forehead with the other.

_That´s strange_ thought Jack.

"You were going into shock, and I had to get that Dill squared away while he was still cooperating," answered Bunny a minute later. He straightened up, shivered, and crossed his arms. "Do you feel shaky, or weak?" he asked.

Jack shook his head. "Not anymore."

Bunny nodded and allowed Jack to sit up. A yeti walked in pushing a dusty cobwebbed wheelchair and Bunny motioned for Jack to rise and follow him back over to North.

"Like I said before, I need to examine you while you´re well before I can know how to help you when something like this happens," said Bunny as they walked slowly.

After being assured by Jack that he was able to stand "like a normal person," Bunny turned his attention to the wheelchair. It had a carved plank installed, designed to prop up an injured right leg.

Doctor Bunnymund glanced at his patient.

"Well, it´s pretty old, but it looks fine to me. I want you to_ use_ it, do you understand? Cheat like you did before, and I **will** snap your other leg to make you obey." he said pointedly as he dusted off the chair.

North rolled his eyes.

Bunny noticed, patting the broken limb and making Santa cringe and whimper.

"Luckily you´ve busted the same leg as last time, so no alterations need to be made" he said lightly, examining the temporary splint he had tied to the leg as if his patient hadn't made a sound.

North growled and murmured something Russian in response, making Jack chuckle.

"Alright," said Bunny, "I need to make a cast for you, and then I´ll be out of your hair."

The yeti Bunny had talked to before came up with a fresh bucket of plaster and fabric strips, and Bunny began to make the cast.

"Can I help?" asked Jack.

Bunny raised his eyebrows and nodded, motioning towards the supplies with a furry hand. He crouched to the side and gave Jack instructions, pausing to carefully push the near-violent elves away from himself repeatedly as Jack did most of the work.

Eventually, the elves backed off and the cast was finally finished.

"Good," said Bunny, stretching his neck and arms, closing his eyes, and taking a few slow breaths.

The elves scowled at him.

"Thank you, Jack. . . Alright North. . . you´re apples. Now stay off it, spend today and all of tomorrow in bed, and I want to meet with both of you at noon the day after. Got it?"

Jack nodded solemnly and North grumbled something in agreement. Bunny and Jack helped him to sit the chair, and Jack apologized to both of them again.

"I told you not to worry about it, Frostbite. . . Alright. I´ll see you in a day. If you need anything or it starts to hurt, send a yeti to get me," said Bunny as he gathered up the medical kit and handed it to a yeti.

North murmured something about Bunny making the pain worse instead of making things better. The doctor ignored him, and instead waved at Tooth and Sandy as Jack moved away to chat with one of the yeti.

Tooth glanced over to make sure Jack was busy, then zoomed up to Bunny with determined, wide eyes. "Are you sure you have to leave now?" she whispered. "After everything that Pitch put us through, I think you should stay for a little longer" she added, motioning to where Jack was, winking, and raising her eyebrows.

North saw, and snapped out of his sulking.

"Yes, remember? I mention this to you in sleigh!" he added, also whispering and motioning toward Jack with his head as he looked pointedly at Bunny.

Bunny turned his attention to his patient and sighed. "Call it off, then go to your room and rest, Nickolas. Your body needs to recover before you exert yourself" he said flatly.

North narrowed his eyes and looked over at Jack, who was now talking to Sandy a few meters away.

Turning back to Tooth, Bunny smiled slightly, but shook his head, giving no explanation. He then reached habitually for her hand, kissed it quickly, and released it. Then he nodded to the others before thumping his foot against the ground to summon a tunnel and step casually in.

The elves made one last desperate struggle to throw the bandages down the tunnel before it disappeared, but only one of them succeeded; but really failed, since the bandage shot back out and landed on the floor as quickly as it had gone in. Regardless, the victor raised her arms in triumph, to the chagrin of the others.

The tunnel closed, leaving a bright yellow pansy in its place.

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"I´m really sorry about the ice," said Jack to North, as he helped him settle more comfortably into the chair.

North´s attitude changed from a punished child to a tired, yet jolly uncle.

"Do not blame yourself, Jack! T´vas not your fault," he said, with a smile. Jack smiled back and shrugged in resignation.

"Well, if no one´s going to get mad at me, I guess there´s not much I can do," he said with a small smile.

North laughed, and his eyes twinkled. "You could always help me come up with some new designs for this old chair, or help decorate for party with Tooth. . ."

Jack smiled wider, and moved his hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Uh, yeah, heh, she´s sweet. . ." he said as pink spread up his neck and cheeks.

Sandy floated over, a new mug of eggnog in his hand, a smile on his face and an eyebrow raised at Jack.

Suddenly, confusion trickled onto Jack's features. "Wait. Decorate for a party? What party?"

North flashed a wide grin.

"Well, before accident, I tell Phil to bake a large cake to celebrate our new guardian! He should be finish soon, but we must prepare room for big guardian party!"

Sandy nodded enthusiastically and Tooth zoomed up with her fairies, a smile on her face. The elves took that as their cue to start prepping and scattered to who knows where to get who knows what.

"Wow! Seriously? You guys don't have to do that," laughed a thrilled Jack. The baby teeth chattered and nodded their heads emphatically and North laughed loudly.

"We do not have many parties, but now that we have a guardian of fun hopefully it will be common pleasure, right Sandy?"

Sandy nodded but soon noticed that Jack was frowning and had his eyebrows furrowed.

"Shouldn´t we tell Bunny to come back?" asked the young man, looking up at Tooth.

"Aw, you're so kind and thoughtful!" gushed Tooth as some of her fairies fainted. She looked over at the older two guardians and hesitated before turning back to Jack with her answer.

"But here's the thing Jack, Bunny is -"

"Is party pooper," interjected North as he stared into Jack's eyes with an honest expression.

Before Jack could react, Sandy jumped in and made a picture of the original four guardians, balloons appearing, and Bunny leaving the group.

"Yes! That´s exactly it. Bunny has avoided any party invitations or even party plans ever since he became a guardian," said Tooth gently. Sandy nodded and North looked put out and had his arms crossed.

"Even this one," muttered the Russian.

"Man, everyone says he keeps to himself, but I thought for sure he would be more outgoing with the rest of you guys," said Jack.

Sandy shook his head sadly and North replied.

"He used to be always as strict and stony as he is when in doctor-mode, but I think he has loosen up very much since he became guardian, no?" asked North as he looked to Sandy and Tooth for confirmation. They both nodded, and he continued his explanation. "This is why we were so surprise when he invite us to help with Easter. Is first time all of us have been to the Warren at same time."

Sandy gestured to himself and looked at North, offended.

"Ah, yes. Most of us to Warren at same time."

Jack cringed as they mentioned Easter.

"Yeah, and Easter didn't end so well, hehe. I hope Bunny forgives me for that someday. . ."

Tooth and North got quiet.

"I owe you an apology, Jack. I was so caught up with being angry with Pitch that I didn't bother to take the time to even consider your side of the story. I shouldn't have assumed you were helping Pitch," confessed Tooth softly.

"I owe apology as well. I am so very sorry, Jack," added North.

Jack smiled and shook his head. "I would have thought the same thing. It's in the past, let's forget about it, ok? Besides," he said, with a hesitant smile, "I kind of got you back with the whole falling logs thing, right?"

North guffawed and smacked the thin guardian on the back. "Forgive and forget, no? Ahahaha!"

Just then the lights dimmed and the four guardians looked over to where a crowd of yeti were marching in, wearing party hats. Phil was in the center, holding an enormous blue and white frosted cake with five layers. The room was now decorated sloppily, thanks to the ever enthusiastic elves, and the lights from the candles on the cake reflected in the smiling eyes of everyone present.

"We have not yet compose 'Happy Becoming Guardian' song, so we will sing Happy Birthday instead!" said North cheerfully.

Jack blushed and tried to stop himself from laughing as the voices of Tooth and North were soon drowned out by the grunts and warbles of the fairies and yeti as they sang what Jack could only assume to be the tune to Happy Birthday. Sandy couldn't stop smiling either as he looked at all of the joy around him. Jack blew out the candles and the crowd erupted in a cheer.

_This new chapter is going to be a good one,_ thought the Sandman as he took in what he considered to be the perfect scene before him.

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_Thanks for reading! _

_Here's a little note to those marvelous individuals who have recently left reviews:_

_**Iloveanimals,** Thanks for leaving the first review! I'm a huge fan of big brother Bunny stories too, and I think this fits that category. I hope you enjoy the coming chapters! _

_**Go Outside**, Thank you for your comments! I'm so glad you are enjoying Dr. Bunnymund so far. I'm still in the set-up part of the story, but it's going to be a fun ride for the observant readers pretty soon, so please keep reading and reviewing! I love hearing your thoughts and inferrences. _

_To the **Guest** who I suspect wrote two comments, but I'm mostly writing this __in response to the long one. Thank you for your review! Your story of how your niece broke her arm when you were young sounds extremely intense, and was very exciting for me to read about, so thank you for sharing! I'm impressed that you had the sense to take care of her neck first, even though you were only 12 years old. Good for you! Also, I think you and I share the same opinion with regards to North's attitude and Bunny's. I'll show a little more of Tooth and Jack in this story coming up, but I have planned for them to be in a more romantic (though hesitant) relationship. With that said, I'm not going to show too much of it, as this is Bunnymund's story, not theirs. If you want, you could probably read it as them just being very close friends, if that's how you prefer to see them. Thanks so much for taking the time to write out such a substantial review. It made me smile for days! _

_Here are some questions that I would love you readers to answer:_

_Why do you think Bunnymund avoids parties? _

_How do you think Tooth feels about his avoidance verses how North feels?_

_Do you enjoy going to parties, or do you avoid them? _

_I would love to know your thoughts about this and even some criticism if you have it. I've got a thick skin and lots to improve, so don't be afraid to be savage in your reviews! _

_I'll be back next week with another chapter!_


	5. Yellowed Plant Skeletons

Chapter 5

**Yellowed Plant Skeletons**

_Two days later, at the Pole_

Jack looked up at the clock; 12:22.

"North, I know you said he's never late, but it's been ten minutes already," he complained. His gaze returned to the stick-figure drawing he had been working on for the last twenty-two minutes. "I'm thinking maybe he meant for us to meet him in the Warren. He's probably down there right now, chapped and waiting for us with steam blowing out of his ears."

Jack couldn't help smirking a little as he imagined said scene, then he turned to look back at the man who's cast he was doodling on. North looked up from the tiny ice sculpture that he was chipping away at, accidentally jostling the dinner tray that he had balanced over the armrests of his newly improved tank-chair.

"I am beginning to think you may be right," said the Russian.

Sandy stopped sending dream sand from his post at the window and floated over to his friends. The dream giver had arrived at the pole at exactly noon, for some unknown reason, and had seemed content to wait with the other two until the doctor showed up.

Once he got their attention, he made a sand bunny holding a stop sign, and then a door shutting, then he looked at North.

"But Bunny never lets anyone go to Warren, unless is emergency" translated North with a sigh. "Yes my friend, is true."

"He never specified to meet here at the Pole, though. He only said ' tha dayy afta tamorra at noon'" countered Jack in his best Australian accent, looking back at the clock.

North followed his gaze, his expression morphing from indifferent acceptance to worry as he saw the time. "And is not like him to be so late without telling us."

Sandy just shrugged in response and Jack looked down, deciding which new color to draw with. North placed the tiny carving tools on his makeshift "desk" tray and began stroking his beard in thought.

"I told you that last week was first time Bunny ever invited all us Guardians to Warren, yes?" he asked. Jack looked up from the sharpie marker collection and nodded as a carefree look entered North's eyes. "I think maybe we can talk our way out of mess if we need to, since he did invite us recently, and he is late," said North to Sandy.

The Sandman looked doubtful.

"We can always tell him we were worried!" emphasized North.

Jack looked hopefully at the sandman with puppy eyes and added, "Besides, it´s polite to drop in on a friend once in a while, right?"

Sandy considered this for a moment, then shrugged slowly in defeat. Jack jumped up and flipped his staff into his hand with his toes, causing the other two to smile.

"Come on, let's go!"

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_12:30 PM, at the Warren_

The strangest sensation of dizziness overcame all three of them and made Jack fall over as they exited the snow globe portal. Predictably, it had dropped them off at the same place where they had exited Bunny´s tunnel a few days earlier; only this time, there were no eggs in sight.

But, their absence didn't take away from the stunning beauty before them. The rolling grassy hills were just as vibrant as before, speckled with bright, brilliant hues of all colors that sashayed gently with the wind.

The only thing distracting from the iconic image were the few withered, yellowed plant skeletons that staggered through the earth here and there. The color had been leeched from them, leaving only wiry stalks with their dead leaves curled inward like crushed ribs.

Upon closer inspection of his fairly-familiar surroundings, North noticed that along with the little eggs, there were no stone egg golems in sight either. It took him a second, though, due to the fact that his head that couldn´t seem to stop spinning.

Jack was accustomed to feeling dizzy, due to his frequent flying, as were North and Sandy. But this wasn´t regular dizziness. It was as if they had just stepped onto solid ground after being in a boat for hours, or had just gotten off of an intense roller coaster. What made this even more odd was that the ground wasn´t moving. In fact, everything in the Warren looked peaceful, from the carved stone archways to the graceful flower blooms.

Despite the stillness, all three guardians still felt as if they were standing on an enormous spinning lazy susan.

It was rather unsettling.

Literally.

"Is this normal?" asked Jack as he pulled himself to his feet and looked at the other two; blinking his eyes rapidly.

"I have been here only few times, but has never felt like this" answered North, his hands gripping the chair armrests a little tighter than before.

Sandy just shrugged as stars whirled in circles over his head. He was floating gently above the ground, but his body unconsciously was turning slowly in mid-air, going clockwise. When he finally focused his eyes, he had to re-position himself every few seconds in order to keep facing his friends.

"Do you guys think he´s in trouble?" asked Jack as he leaned on his staff to keep from falling over again, a worried look on his face.

North and Sandy glanced at each other, brows furrowed.

Sandy turned himself in mid-air again, a few degrees counter-clockwise, and made a sand egg with legs and the word _help_ written on it, followed by an x above his head.

"He sent us no messenger egg for help. . . All the same, I think we were right to have come. Let´s look for him, yes?" said North.

The other two agreed and they communally decided to take the most well-worn path, and the one that North and Jack vaguely remembered using a few days earlier during the Easter Prep. Once they chose said path, they set off wobbily, their eyes peeled for any sign of their missing friend.

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_I'm sorry, but I won't be updating this for a little while. But hey, when I do it will have a new picture to go with it. _

_Till then, leave a review on your favorite chapter so far!_

_In response to these three marvelous people:_

_**Shellycat**: Thank you for your review! I´m so glad that you are liking the story so far. I really enjoyed thinking about your comment because of how clever your response was, especially your thoughts about Tooth knowing why Bunny avoids parties. It is a great inference, and is accurate in showing how Tooth and Bunny are fairly close. As to the rest, we´ll have to wait and see. _

_**Guest**: Ok, I´m pretty sure you´re the same guest who´s left the other two reviews. If not, then I´m sorry! Anyway, I think your assessment is pretty accurate, with regards to Tooth and North. As to Bunnymund, I´d say you´re spot on, but who knows? There may be more to his hesitance than meets the eye. . . Also, I hear you. Proms are grossly overrated, at least in my book. Thanks for your review!_

_**Go Outside**: I feel bad for putting this story on pause, but it must be done. I'll be back soon though, I promise. Aside from that, I enjoyed reading your review! I think you're right; Bunny has a tragic past (according to the original stories), and I'm sure there are many things that may bring back memories of his that he would rather forget. _

_Reviews are the best. They´re so much fun to read, and they make my day! _

_Moving on. _

_Here´s my list of questions for this chapter:_

_Why do you think Sandy showed up at the Pole at exactly 12:00? _

_How do you think Jack is getting along with his new friends? Are you surprised? _

_Have you ever fallen over from being too dizzy before? What happened? _

_Why do you think the guardians got so dizzy after entering the Warren? _


	6. Charlie

Chapter 6

**Charlie**

Four minutes later, they were all accustomed to the dizziness and Jack had started inventing new names to call Bunny by.

"HARE! HAIRY! MARCH HARE! HAIRBALL! FURBALL! FURBY! FURBALICIOUS! FLUFFY! FUZZY!"

He stopped yelling and looked at North thoughtfully.

"Do you think he would be offended if I called him ´rabbit stew´"? he asked.

North laughed and Sandy raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, I think he would be very mad," chuckled the large man. Jack smiled mischievously.

"I´ll have to save that one for a summer day then. COTTONPUFF—"

Just then a waist-high metal egg popped up out of nowhere. Its round eyes blinked yellow at them a few times before darkening to a steady red as it took 4 steps closer. Unlike the stone golems, it had four robot-like arms, and was clearly composed of metal plates. The metal sheets were screwed together, giving it a Frankenstein´s monsteresque look.

The only thing that made it seem endearing was that it was covered in gorgeous pastel patterns, mostly minty green in color. The swirls and dots that covered it made its creator an obvious guess.

Despite the care that was clearly put into the paint, there were a few rusty spots that had eaten through, showing how old the little minion must have been. The name Charlie was calligraphied across its chest (if eggs can have chests). It was clutching a few sprigs of rosemary in two of its hands, and staring at them steadily with its creepy eyes, observing them one by one.

Jack paused with one foot ready to take another step and the other supporting all of his weight. He stared at the metal minion in front of him for a second or two before whispering to the others.

"Is _this _normal?"

North drove his tank-chair forward to get a closer look at Charlie.

"Hm, it is one of Bunny´s worker eggs. He once used a robot like this to send me a message before, but has been a few decades since."

Jack relaxed and leaned on his staff with one leg crossed in front of the other. "That´s good news, right? If Bunny were in trouble then this thing wouldn´t just be standing here with us, would it? Can we ask it where he is?"

Charlie´s eyes flickered a little before becoming brighter, and he took a step forward. He began emitting strange ticking noises through the slit that served as his mouth and vocalizing. Jack thought it sounded as if someone were swirling a handful of screws in a dented metal bowl and singing into a large plastic cup.

In other words, it made no sense.

The three guardians all shared a look of confusion before staring back at the egg.

It´s vocal ticking went silent a second later as it analyzed them, it´s red circles blinking twice.

It then raised one of its herb-free arms and made a circle around its head with a pointed finger, looking like a cowboy whirling his imaginary lasso over his head. The three guardians looked at each other, then back at Charlie.

"I think we broke it," said Jack, after watching Charlie twirl his arm around for ten seconds.

Sandy waved at the other two and made a picture of them raising their hands. After getting only blank stares, he changed his sand to a picture of a child at a desk raising their hand. "We should ask it another question?" guessed North. Sandy nodded and gestured from North to Charlie.

North shrugged, and turned his attention to Charlie.

"Is your master in danger?" he asked.

Charlie let his arm drop to his side and shook his body, like a person shakes their head. His thin metal legs squeak-creaked as he twisted.

"Ah! Very good! Let´s see," said North, stroking his beard.

"Can you take us to him?"

Charlie shook his body again, and made the same whirling motion with his spidery metal hand as before.

"Huh, that´s weird," said Jack, moving closer.

"Is he in the warren?"

Charlie turned to look at Jack and bobbed his body up and down, squeaking some more.

"Ok. . . so, is he busy with something?"

Charlie bobbed again.

Sandy made a picture of Charlie running to Bunny, and then running back to them, and North translated.

"Could you tell him that we are here?"

Charlie shook.

Sandy, of all people, made a frustrated face, which in turn made Jack laugh.

North looked thoughtful, and then asked "How long will Bunny be busy?"

Charlie´s eyes flickered as he seemed to consider this for a moment, then they steadied into the constant red beam as he held up eight, then twelve of his fingers (he only had four per hand).

"In a matter of minutes?" guessed Jack, and Charlie bobbed again.

"Aha!" exclaimed North. "Now we are getting somewhere!" He rubbed his hands together with a determined smile. "Do you know where he will go when he is no longer busy?" he asked.

Charlie bobbed up and down rapidly.

"Will you take us there?" cut in Jack, and Charlie bobbed again, even more enthusiastically, his eyes flashing bright pink for a second before humming back to red.

"Great! Let´s go!" urged Jack, motioning for Charlie to lead the way.

Charlie shot off at a waddling run, leading away from their path and onto raw terrain. Sandy was concerned for North´s mobility, but the tank-like treads that the engineer had made to replace the original wheels were perfectly adept at keeping up over grass and stone, and the engine he had installed was running perfectly. The four of them ran/flew/drove/floated for only a minute or two before Jack turned it into a race. Charlie must've understood, because he quickened the pace and the guardians did their best to keep up with him for at least five more minutes.

Suddenly Charlie stopped and crouched down, posing like an insect with all of his hands on the ground. The guardians slowed down or landed, and Jack was forming a question when suddenly all of them lost their balance at the same time. Jack was the only one who landed flat on the ground again since Sandy had managed to catch himself from tumbling off of his cloud and North was secure in his chair. Charlie turned and looked at the other three with what Jack imagined was cheeky amusement on his painted metal face.

"What was that?" asked Jack as he pulled himself up from the grass for the second time.

Charlie made the spinning movement with his hand again, then stopped abruptly (which didn´t help anyone).

"Strange," said North. "It feels like everything is now still; opposite of before, no?"

Sandy nodded.

Charlie perked up and turned in the direction he had been previously running. Sandy, who had a better view than the other two, followed his gaze and caught sight of some more metal eggs of various colors charging toward a 3-story house sized stone mound only a few grassy hills away.

He also caught sight of two furry ears, and soon, the Easter Bunny himself. The guardian was hoisting himself out of a tunnel, his back to them, and soon headed toward the stone mound. A crowd of egg minions waddled like a gaggle of geese behind him as they followed.

Sandy waved to the others and jumped up and down, to no avail. They were too busy discussing what possible meaning Charlie could be trying to communicate with his cowboy imitation. Sandy looked back to where Bunny had been, and barely saw his friend enter an old archway in the stone and disappear from sight again.

Charlie turned his body to face Sandy and they shared what felt like an empathetic moment of silent frustration before the sandman waved a stream of sand in front of his friends.

"_Bunny, that way!" _he signed with wide eyes.

North and Jack lit up and urged him to lead on. He started off, only then realizing that Bunny had pulled himself out of his tunnel with his arms instead of hopping spryly out like he usually did. _How odd_, he thought, but stowed the information away and continued on.

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_Hello Reader,_

_I stopped updating this story because I wanted to be sure that the hints for later happenings were perfectly in place before posting them. But, I don't think that I'll ever feel like this story is perfect, so if I wait until it is, I will never post it._

_With that said, I am going to continue posting the chapters (perhaps not weekly like before, but still regularly). I reserve the right to change a few things in chapters that have already been posted, and if I do alter something, I'll leave a note in the newest chapter advising you to re-read said alteration in whatever chapter it is in._

_Now, I do not have the new cover picture ready yet, but I'll keep working on it. I'm trying to draw my own, but it is much more difficult than I thought it would be._

_**To my marvelous reviewers:**_

_Guest,_

_Tug-of-war. I hate that game. The fact that you were dragged for several feet and had your skin ripped off makes me cringe. I'm so sorry that happened! Also, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Your inference that Bunny is hurt makes me proud. We will see! I look forward to reading your answers to the questions in this chapter._

_Go Outside,_

_I'm glad you like some of the descriptions. It can be difficult to put something you imagine into words, so I'm glad that my vision of Sandy getting dizzy like that was able to come across accurately for you. Which sports have you been knocked out in? I did MMA for quite a few years, but I only woke up in a daze once after getting kicked in the head. BTW, excellent inferences! Also, I would love to know what you think about this new chapter._

_**Questions for my readers:**_

_**What do you think Charlie is trying to communicate to the Guardians with his cowboy impression?**_

_**What do you think Bunny is busy doing?**_

_**Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who spoke a different language? Did it turn out to be a positive experience, or a negative one?**_

_Goodbye until the next chapter! _


	7. Dandelion-Colored Vest

Chapter 7

**A Dandelion-Colored Vest**

"Charlie! Not so fast!" whispered Jack as they wound through the maze of tunnels a few minutes later. They were too busy trying to keep up with the egg to notice the many doorways that they rushed past. "I don´t want to get lost and lose my head down here."

Sandy gave him a questioning look.

Jack looked surprised before answering. "You know, ´off with their heads? ´ Rabbit hole?"

Sandy didn´t have time to respond because Charlie (again) halted suddenly and turned his head (body?) to look at them. He put a shushing finger up to his rusty silent mouth slit before entering one of the side tunnels, which ramped down and led directly to another archway. The air had become warmer and more humid during the last minute, and now it was foggy with steam.

Charlie disappeared into the room, and the others followed cautiously behind.

"I need you . . . send a . . . golems to . . . south . . . to see . . . got all . . . them . . . all of . . . too. . ." they heard Bunny´s muffled voice say. They still couldn´t see him, or who he was talking to through the steam, but he sounded like he was trying to catch his breath. They heard some more strange metallic, echoey vowels, followed by Bunny´s voice again.

"Add that to . . . list then, and have . . . one go . . . check the . . . that I´ve . . . The sugar too, . . . you´re at it."

"He sounds weird," whispered Jack.

Sandy nodded, and North looked nervous.

"Don´t tell him about how we party for hours after he left, da?" answered North quietly.

The three of them nodded in unison, and stalked closer to Bunny´s voice. North was so intent on being quiet that he nearly drove right into a steaming pool. Sandy noticed this and began walking just in front of his friend to avoid an accident. Jack fell into step behind the tank-chair.

"Jarr, keep the cows . . . comfort. . . as possible, and try to get them . . . to you. . . take care of them by myself now, so you´ll have to . . ."

"Tik ou ikee ek totrr iki?"

"No, I don´t care . . . milk production right . . . just . . . them settled. Jane, have the golems . . . back from checking the west fields?"

"Tika ek arrak ikika-a."

"Fine. Tell them to start . . . and I´ll be there soon to advise."

"Tik iee Tik ke eka eko!"

"Ah, Charlie! Thank you, that´s just what I needed."

"Tik Ikotatouk ek koa—"

"Yes, North, I know. Run a note to him saying I´ll be late, and take my human med kit and the guardian journal with you. Go now, and keep in mind how cold it will be."

During this, the others had crept up close enough to see him. Bunny was near the far wall with his back to them, and he was surrounded by red-eyed metal egg minions of various sizes and make-ups, appearing to talk to them individually while he unwrapped his ankle braces.

Jack moved next to the other two and pinched the chest of his sweatshirt and shook it while looking at the others with a questioning expression.

"_Why is he wearing clothes?"_ is what Sandy interpreted from Jack´s action.

North furrowed his brows and took a second look at his furry friend through the mist. Sure enough, he was wearing a slightly frayed dandelion-colored vest with multiple patches that covered his shoulders and his long torso.

North shrugged to Jack and whispered.

"He usually does, just not while running around for Easter."

Jack nodded in understanding, then they all continued forward. Bunny was now stepping into what looked like the only pool that wasn´t steaming. He was unbuttoning his vest with one hand and holding Charlie´s rosemary collection in the other by the time the others were close enough to see the fur on the back of his head clearly. There was an assortment of colorful soap bars on a tray by the pool edge, as well as a long-handled scrub brush and his ankle and wrist braces in a neat pile.

"Socrates, fetch me some food quick, will you? I´ve got to get to North´s right after this and won´t have time to get it myself. Some peppermint tea would be nice t-"

"You could just ask for some food at pole, my friend," said North cheekily.

Bunnymund wrenched around, his vest flipping open, briefly exposing a flash of white underneath.

"Crikey mate!" Bunny cringed after turning so quickly. "W-what the hell are you doing here?" he snapped, dropping the rosemary sprigs onto the ground so he could button up the vest with hasty fingers.

His voice had a raw edge to it, and his fur and double-breasted vest showed wet spots under the arms and at the center of his chest. His eyes were wide at first, but were soon narrowed as his nose wrinkled at the sides. His left arm was pushed against his covered ribs, keeping his vest closed while he cinched it back up.

"You were late, and we were worried so we came to meet you here!" explained North.

He did a good job of keeping the hesitance out of his voice and ended up sounding genuinely concerned and friendly. The other two nodded in innocent agreement.

Bunny´s eyes darted from North to Jack and then to Sandy.

"Late?" he asked haltingly. "What time is it?"

North laughed and answered. "It was nearly 12:30 when we left pole to look for you, and that was a while ago, old friend!"

Bunny´s eyes showed disbelief, and then annoyed understanding and acceptance as they shot from looking at North, to his own vest, and then to the ground.

"I see. . . I´m sorry, I didn't anticipate taking so long. How did you find your way in here?" he asked looking up at them with his left eyebrow furrowed, his hands finishing up the last few buttons.

Sandy and Jack pointed to the archway Charlie had sped through only moments past.

"Charlie brought us here" said Jack lightly, a child-like look in his eyes.

Bunny rolled his own eyes and brought up his right hand to pinch the wide bridge of his nose.

"So _that´s _what he meant when he said you were waiting for me."

The other three exchanged silent glances, and then pasted smiles on their faces as Bunny raised his head to look at them again. His green eyes shifted between the guardians, to the pool he was standing in, and then to North's casted leg. He sighed and then stepped out of the pool.

"Alright. Give me a moment to rinse and dry off, and I´ll meet you in another room."

The three intruders looked at each other and shrugged.

He walked past the extensive collection of long-handled brushes that hung on the wall and over to a shelf carved into the stone that was full of pastel towels. He moved quickly, giving Sandy only a few seconds to notice that the wet fur of his ankles had a distinct, thick line of darker grey just where his braces usually covered. He didn't have much time to ponder this, however, as Bunnymund walked back to the edge of the pool with a lemon colored towel under his arm. He dropped it by the edge next to the soaps and leather straps, and looked toward the doorway.

Charlie waddle-ran in just then with an old suitcase in one hand, a leather bound notebook in another, and a piece of paper in the third.

"Thanks Charlie. Now I need you to take them to the-" Bunny´s eyes wandered to one side as he drummed his fingers twice "—mmm, to the machine room."

Charlie´s body tilted to the side slightly.

"Aii a takate Tik?"

"No, not the med room; that stays closed. Take them to the machine storage room, it's already empty and should have enough space. Understand?"

"Tika."

"Good. Take the kit and book with you, and don´t let them wander off," grumbled Bunny as he glanced at his guests.

"Tika."

"In fact, have Edgar help you," he added, motioning to another egg minion amidst the group of metal helpers who were standing at attention, seeming to watch the interaction of their boss and his coworkers with slow blinking red eyes.

"Tika," said Edgar joining Charlie. He was a slightly larger metal egg with purple-based paint and only three arms.

Charlie stopped in front of North and held out the piece of paper to the large man and waited for him to read it before motioning for the three of to follow him to the archway.

_North,_

_ I´ll be late. _

_-E.A.B._

Jack´s face broke out into a large smile as he read the note over North´s shoulder. North let out a small chuckle and turned to Charlie. "Thank you for the notice, Charlie."

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_**CHAPTER 6 (CHARLIE) HAS BEEN EDITED! Nothing major, but I have changed how Charlie looks and most importantly, how his eyes depict what he´s thinking and feeling. It´s nothing grand, but I personally think it´s an improvement, so you may enjoy re-reading it.**_

_Alright ladies and gents, this is where the pace starts picking up. I'm sorry the chapters have been so slow up till now, but the fun really begins in the next chapter._

_Congratulations on making it through the slowest chapters! I can't wait to hear your suspicions and theories coming up._

_With that said, please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter. They really make my day. Don´t feel pressured to answer the questions, I only put them up here to inspire more reviews, so feel free to ignore them if you have something else to say._

_**Guest:** Your reviews are the reason why I post these. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them out, they really do make my week! I look forward to reading your thoughts about this chapter. :) You are right to be surprised that Charlie didn´t attack the guardians. . . but more on that later, as I hate to spoil the experience for you._

_Here's a few questions to inspire those of you who are a little shy:_

_What do you think Bunny has been up to?_

_If you were North, Sandy or Jack, how would you be feeling about Bunny's hospitality?_

_Have you ever fallen into a pool on accident?_


	8. Close the Doors

Chapter 8

**Close the Doors**

"So, how often do you play dress-up, Cotton-tail, and why were you all sweaty?" probed Jack when the guardian came in ten minutes later. He was wearing a white cotton shirt under a grey vest now, and his fur was damp and sticking up at odd angles. His ankle braces could be easily seen, but his wrist ones weren´t present. The lemon towel he had grabbed was now damp and slung limply over one of his shoulders.

They were in a separate room inside the same grey stone mound as before. This room was a few stories up, accessed by a spiral ramp instead of stairs, much to North´s joy. The hallway leading to it had had many bright, multi-hued doors, a few of them open and giving the guests a brief glance of old bookshelves, paint bottles, or stacks of large colorful pottery pots and other unrecognizable supplies. I say brief, because Edgar went to great lengths to shut the doors before his charges had the chance to take a good look inside, much to their concern.

Predictably, Jack had been curious, but North, though not visibly surprised by the minion's actions, seemed very put out by the time they reached their destination. Sandy just observed with sadspicious eyes.

The current room they were in had peg-board walls lined systematically with small contraptions, tools, and odds and ends of every size. The room also contained a large, scratched wooden table with a long bench, a sink, soap, and spare sheets of metal propped carefully against the only bare wall, organized by size.

Sandy had settled onto the bench, which was right next to North´s broken leg. North´s eyes were searching every object in the room, concern apparently forgotten, and Jack was standing on the windowsill admiring the view. Charlie and Edgar posted themselves at the doorway, waiting for their boss to show up.

"Very funny, Frostbite, and I was charging the Warren, not that it's any of your business," muttered Bunny as he lifted Charlie´s suitcase and notebook from the ground and set them on the table (none too gently), before opening them both up.

"That sounds interesting, especially since it made you so late for a very important date, White Rabbit" needled Jack, but Bunny ignored him completely, until North joined in.

"What is this charging the Warren? You have never told me how you keep so much plant life alive with no sunlight down here," he asked with genuine curiosity.

Bunnymund's left ear twitched as he took a deep breath and set out a few of the medical things.

"With sufficient velocity, friction, space, and a few other things, kinetic energy can be converted into synthetic solar energy," he answered flatly, his attention still on the medical supplies.

He didn´t seem intent on giving more information, so North pushed.

"And what is your process for this?"

Bunny moved over to the sink and began lathering his hands with soapy water before answering.

"It´s none of your affair, so I don´t know why you ask. But, since you insist, I have a circular tunnel that runs along the perimeter of the Warren. If I run through it with enough speed, I can send ripples of energy through the soil, from the outer ring to the center of the Warren." He glanced at North with a raised brow.

"Is that enough to satisfy your bottomless curiosity?"

North smiled. "Yes, it is for now," he said brightly.

"Moving on then. I see you´ve disregarded my instructions. . . _Again_," lectured Bunny as he gestured to North´s tank-chair with a wet hand. "I told you not to cheat," he added menacingly.

North laughed in a quick, highish way. "I did stay in bed as I made plans. . ." he offered with an innocent smile.

Bunnymund raised an eyebrow and glared hard at North's good leg, effectively giving North a shiver up his spine.

"Besides, vas good bonding moment with our new guardian!" enthused North, unconsciously turning the chair so that his broken limb blocked his threatened one from the doctor as he nodded towards Jack, who grinned back.

Bunny only hummed curtly in response as he dried his hands on the towel and turned to sift through the suitcase again. He paused, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Charlie," he exhaled.

The green egg was soundlessly by his master´s side in a jiffy.

"Run to the charge prep room and bring my satchel, would you? It should be on the table by my med box."

Jack watched Charlie scamper away, giving him an idea.

"Hey Bunny, have you ever tried sitting on one of your minion guys as they run around?"

"No." answered the doctor as he hopped spryly over and pressed the back of one of his wet ears against North´s neck, his threat apparently forgotten. "And I´ll give you a good walloping if you try. They´re legs are far too delicate to carry much, especially now. . . North, roll up your sleeve."

Jack wondered again why Bunny did that with his ears as he busied himself with freezing some of the vine flowers. Bunny turned to the table to retrieve a blood pressure pump with one hand as he leafed through the leather book with the other. Finding the last marked page, he skimmed it quickly, nodded and muttered something to himself, and placed the book back onto the table, pages down.

"You´ve got to lay off the cookies, mate," said Bunnymund as he walked back over to his patient.

North smiled grimly and muttered "Here we go."

This caught Jack´s attention, so he flew over to sit next to Sandy, who had a better view, and an amused smile on his face.

"Bunny, I have told you this many times. I am immortal, and I can handle carbs. I exercise and drink a_ lots_ of water. There is no problem with extra sweets," said the Russian.

"Eggnog is not water, and don´t think I didn´t notice how weak and heavy you became during the Pitch fiasco," answered Bunny curtly. He wrapped the cuff around North's upper arm. "Open and close your fist a few times."

"Like this?"

"Yes. You need to be well enough to handle yourself even without your powers when something like that happens again," said the doctor.

Jack was now crouching next to Sandy on his bench as a thinnish egg with an orange and pink body with the name Socrates flourished across its chest waddled in, balancing a large ceramic tray of fruits and veggies with his two upper hands. He had a beautiful gallon-sized mug of peppermint tea held with his lower hands, which he placed on the table next to Sandy, along with the tray. Then he turned and left as Sandy sent him a thank you wave and began gleefully snacking.

Something about the refreshments was off, and it took a few glances for Jack to realize that their colors were all mixed up, making them look not unlike Easter eggs. The tomatoes were goldy-red, the snap peas were purporange, and all of the other fruits and vegetables were participating in the confused rainbow. Jack´s nose wrinkled as he eyed the food with distaste, but Sandy´s delighted expression soon convinced him that maybe it wasn´t as bad as it looked.

After trying a tangy turquoise tangerine, he agreed. Soon, both of their heads were darting back and forth between Bunny and North; much like an audience at a tennis game, or children eating popcorn while watching their favorite film.

"Do they always argue like this?" whispered Jack.

Sandy nodded with a gleeful smile as he pushed another slice of pink kiwi into his own mouth.

"Ha! Says pint-size cotton ball. You were more affected by Easter than any of us!" retorted North.

"Sshh" ordered Doctor Bunnymund as he pushed his ear to North's wrist, his eyes watching the pressure dial intently. Half a minute later he straightened up, released the pressure valve and removed the cuff.

"I was able to hold you in my hand!" said North, raising his right hand to emphasize after Bunnymund went back to the table.

The doctor scribbled something in the notebook after looking it over for a few seconds, then came back and pressed his ear against North's forehead, closing his eyes again.

"That was from something else, and you know it." He replied thirty seconds later.

Jack´s eyebrows furrowed.

"Besides, we´re talking about your health, not mine. What have you felt in your leg since last time I saw you? Numbness, aches, tingling?"

"Little aches, but nothing more. Is much better than last time."

"That´s because you actually let me set it early on, unlike last time."

"You were nicer this time," said North with a wave of his hand.

"My humor has nothing to do with my effectiveness as your doctor. Last time you waited for over an hour, and then writhed like a burning snake to make it worse before you let me near. Can you feel this?" Bunny pinched North´s bare big toe, and the large man nodded.

"If you hadn´t been trying to stab me, I wouldn´t have had to move!" countered North.

"I was trying to numb the area, as I informed you multiple times. Push against my hand with your toe. Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Good."

"You stabbed giant needle in my thigh! You left bruise the size of my fist that last for months! Bad bedside manner, Bunny! Very bad!"

"Does this hurt?"

"No."

"Tik iee"

"Ah, Charlie. Thank you," said Bunny as he turned to his small minion.

The doctor took the satchel he had worn while they fought Pitch days earlier from Charlie´s hands and fished through it. North crossed his arms, looking vengeful as Bunny pulled out the same round stone as before and laid the satchel next to the medical case. Sandy and Jack waited patiently for the show to continue.

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_In response to the chapter 7 reviews:_

_**Guest**, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Hopefully Bunny will seem less hospitable than in the last chapter. Also, I think I should confess that I actually have not read the Guardians of Childhood books. I've been living in a country that is not my own for the last year and a half, which made me see Bunny's situation in a completely different light as I try to fit in unsuccessfully where I now live. Anyway, I have every intention of reading the books once I get back to the U. S., but until then, I have only fan lore to give me hints to the character's pasts. Which is why I decided to make this story about Bunnymund, since so many fics disagree about him, or show him in an unfavorable light, which I hate._

_**Go Outside**, thank you for the review, despite the civil unrest in your area. Keep safe, ok? Also, thanks for sharing your hockey story. I couldn't help laughing a little as I read it; I admire your determination._

_**Questions to inspire reviews**:_

_If you were in North's position, would you choose Bunny as your doctor, or someone else?_

_Have any of your questions been answered from this new chapter?_

_Do you find it entertaining when your friends bicker, or does it make you uncomfortable? Example?_


	9. What Meeting?

Chapter 9

**What Meeting?**

The Pooka turned and pressed the stone against North´s cast, leaning over to look through it before he answered.

"If you hadn´t punched me in the jaw, I wouldn´t have lost my balance and stabbed you like that."

Sandy chuckled as Jack´s eyebrows shot up, his mouth forming a small o at the new development in their entertainment.

"If you had stopped threaten me with needle, I would not have hit you," hissed North, pointing a scolding finger at the doctor.

Bunny hummed indifferently and adjusted the stone, tapping it a few times and changing position before answering.

"Then you had to make it worse by fainting and smacking your head on that rock. But really, I shouldn´t be upset about that. It gave me the peace I needed to finally set the bone. Toes toward Sandy."

North twisted his leg at the hip so that the whole limb turned to the side.

"You admit that concussion was your fault, remember?" he claimed, pointing accusingly again. The doctor huffed.

"I never said it was my fault. I said 'I should´ve thought to get you a pillow'. Turn this way now."

"Is same thing."

"No, since you wouldn´t have _needed_ a pillow if you had kept calm like I told you." Bunny leaned up to sniff at the top of the cast.

"I would have been calm if you had put away the needle like I told _you_ to," countered North.

"If you had asked me calmly instead of panicking outright, I might have considered it."

Bunny crouched again and looked through the stone one more time before he stood up and straightened his vest, his nose twitching.

"Well, both bones are still in place and the stitches look good. No sign of infection. All the same, keep off it. I want to check on you again in about a week to give you some exercises." Bunny patted the cast and turned to go wash his hands again.

Sandy offered the large platter of disappearing snacks to a sulking North, and soon all three of them were munching away and swallowing from the community mug in turns.

"I want you to rest for at least four extra hours each day, but you should be fine to go back to work as long as you keep using your chair," said Bunny over his shoulder.

"Gof goarse," said North around a mouthful of cream-colored cranberries, his mood lightening with the exotic refreshments.

Another metal egg with the coloring of a fresh peach with small blue and purple flowers added as accents ran in and ticked rapidly in front of Bunnymund. This one was only about knee high, so Bunny had to crouch down to talk to it as the others watched with mild interest or picked through the few remaining snacks.

"Agatha, what are the numbers?"

"Tock tock ae," she said, her eyes flashing from orange to red in turns.

Bunny´s expression showed confusion and dismay as his ears drooped for half a second.

The movement caught Sandy´s attention and a golden question mark formed itself above his head as he watched Bunnymund lean closer to his minion and lower his voice.

"That´s barely thirty-two percent more than before. . ." he said to her. She nodded, her eyes dimming slightly and staying on orange for a moment. Bunny shook his head slightly.

"Are you sure? Absolutely certain? Did you double check?" he whispered earnestly.

The small egg ticked and vocalized some more before Bunny brought a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. He stayed like that and muttered to himself about "Find where it´s going" and "Too low." Agatha´s eyes added a few yellow blinks to her orange and red light show as he thought aloud.

Sandy glanced at his companions to see if they were paying attention, but they were too busy competing to see who could toss and catch more cherry tomatoes in their mouths in a row to notice. He rolled his eyes a little and chuckled at their antics before looking back to watch Bunnymund and his assistant again.

The doctor was now fiddling with one of his buttons and his eyes were darting back and forth at nothing as he appeared to consider his options.

"Alright, there´s nothing else for it," he finally said quietly with a sigh. "Ask Socrates to get more water jugs for me, and then gather the others so I can talk to you all at once before going down again. I´ll meet you in the prep room as soon as I've eaten and this lot have left," he ordered, motioning toward his intruders with his head.

"Tika!" said Agatha, her eyes settling on red just before she scuttled away.

The Pooka stood up slowly, straightened his vest and turned to the guardians. His eyebrows raised as he observed the near-empty platter Socrates had brought.

"Hungry were we?" he asked humorlessly.

Jack and North nodded and complimented their host on the food, but Sandy felt a bit of regret as he realized that the food Socrates brought had been intended for his master, not his master's company. He gave Bunny an apologetic look, but was waved off as Bunny shook his head and began stretching his neck.

"Don´t worry about it, Sandy; I should´ve realized what assumption you´d all make," he said quietly.

His neck made a soft popping noise before he massaged it briefly. Then he hopped neatly over to Jack.

"I´m sorry mates, but something´s come up and I have to take care of it. Jack, I need to meet with you later. When´s good?"

Jack swallowed and nodded. "Sure thing! Now that it´s spring, my schedule is pretty open until winter starts down south. We could go to the meeting early and do it then if you want" he suggested.

North and Sandy froze, their statue eyes slightly widened. One of them had his lips pursed, and the other had a wince in his teeth.

Their host didn´t notice, as he was turning away from them and toward the table.

"Meeting? What meeting?" asked Bunny in his quick, no nonsense way.

Jack turned to the other two and paused when he saw their _uh oh _expressions.

". . .Uh. . ."

Jack was saved by North who, recovered, spoke with an air of nonchalance.

"Ah, is because after you left, we discussed meeting together more often. . . now that we have new guardian!" said the large man lightly.

Bunny was now organizing the medical case he had used and had only his ear turned toward the others to show that he was listening.

"We already have regular meetings, sparring practice, and the odd skirmish here and there; not to mention your eternal accidents," he replied flatly.

North didn´t even say something snarky back. Instead, he said:

"Well, yes, we used to meet always every half century for an hour, and guardian work does come up, and sparring practice is still going to probably be the same. . ."

North glanced between the back of Bunny´s head, and Sandy. The small golden man sent him a thumbs up and a tight smile, motioning him to continue.

"That doesn´t answer my question," grouched the doctor, still organizing his things. North cleared his throat and squared his shoulders.

". . .Well uh_,_ Sandy, Tooth, Jack and I _all_ agree that we should plan to meet more often to build trust and teamwork, _before_ new problem arises. . . because we now have new member!"

Bunnymund spared a brief glance at North before turning back to the case and rolling up the blood pressure instruments.

"That makes sense. So, what. . . every quarter century?"

Jack suddenly remembered their discussion on how anti-social Bunny was, understanding how hesitant the others had been to ask Bunny to come back after he left. He shrank back slightly as he mechanically shoved the last blue sugar pea pod into his mouth.

North considered his wording for a moment before answering.

"We were thinking much more often than that. . ." he said slowly.

Bunny was now folding a wrinkled triangle bandage, his back still to them as he answered.

"Every decade? That seems a bit excessive, but I´ll go with it for now."

Jack choked on the pea pod and he sent a panicked look to Sandy and North.

"Is fine," assured North in a whisper before he looked back at the doctor; Sandy pounded Jack on the back a few times until he could breathe again.

"We decide two or three hours every other Thursday, so we don´t drift apart like before!" burst North with a cringe and a toothy smile.

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_**Guest!** Your review are the best. Thank you so much for your support, it really helps me to look forward to posting these. I hope you find this chapter to be interesting! The plot is just beginning to thicken! Anyway, I laughed at the conversation between you friend and her husband. I absolutely love watching people bounce back and forth in their conversations to each other like that, so thanks for sharing. I would love to know what you think of Bunnymund in this chapter. Or any other thoughts, really._

**_Please leave a review!_**

_If you were Sandy, what would you think Agatha and Bunny were talking about?_

_How do you think Bunny will react to the new meeting schedule?_

_If you were North, how would you have broken the news about so many meetings to Bunny?_

_What do you usually do when you have to tell someone something, and you know they´re not going to be happy with you? Example?_


	10. Your Current Priority

Chapter 10

**Your Current Priority**

"We decide two or three hours every other Thursday, so we don´t drift apart like before!" burst North.

Bunnymund (and everyone else) froze.

Well, except for the green egg named Charlie.

If Sandy had been paying attention, he would have seen Charlie´s eyes change to a rosy pink color and brighten as they grazed back and forth between the guardians. But, even the observant Sandman was too busy balancing on the edge of his seat and staring at the Guardian of Hope to notice. The silence only lasted a few seconds before the pooka broke it.

"Heh-heh-heh, very funny North."

The doctor turned to look at them with a smirk on his face. It disappeared as he saw the _'we're dead' _looks on their faces.

His eyes swung to each of them, blinking twice.

"What, you´re serious?" he asked.

Their expressions didn´t change.

Green orbs became cold as he analyzed them.

"'Drift apart?' You can't drif-a_re you serious_?! North, there´s no way I´m going to be able to come every _fourteen days_ to meet with all of you! I don´t have time for that, _especially_ now!"

Bunny's nose and ears were taking turns twitching, but mostly his ears, and his voice had raised in volume. His eyes darted back and forth, not really looking at anything for an awkward few seconds before he continued.

"That´s-it's . . . it's 52 to 78 hours per year! Impossible. . . Unreasonable! A minimum 2,600% increase in meeting times alone!" he shook his head and pointed a hand at them as North recovered his composure.

"Absolutely unreasonable! I made my terms quite clear, North. I won´t do it."

The rabbit turned his back to them, raising a dismissing hand before re-folding the same bandage as before.

Jack shrunk back a little, watching the others with a wide expression.

Sandy looked troubled, but said nothing, deciding to pat Jack on the shoulder instead.

North´s eyes closed slightly and he let out a deep huff through his nose.

"We agreed to those terms half millennia ago. Things are very different now! Look, -" he lifted his shirt to show the right side of his belly "—scars are all gone! Time has passed! Let us make change, no?"

Bunny´s ear twitched and he swiveled around with narrowed eyes.

"Having Jack as a guardian changes nothing. And yes, time has passed. Regardless, I told you I would protect the children and do what I could if anyone of you got injured. I will come if there is an emergency, but 52 to 78 extra hours per year is too much—I don´t care how many of your scars have faded!"

"You used to say that being Guardian was too much, but you make exceptions to your rule all of time! What will it take for you to reconsider in less than one century hm? Another accident with your experiments?" shot North, pointing a finger at the doctor.

Bunny rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

North got a stubborn twinkle in his eye as a defiant smile crept up from under his moustache.

"Or perhaps another duel?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Jack´s confusion skyrocketed, and Sandy looked a little uneasy, and a few symbols flashed above him; mostly a candy cane, an egg, a G, a spinning clock, a crescent moon and a series of x's and exclamation points.

Once again, Charlie´s eyes changed color, but this time to a blaring yellow as he watched. Jack was the only one to see it, but the young man thought nothing of it.

Bunnymund scoffed and motioned to North´s leg.

"That didn´t end well for you last time, and you had all of your limbs then. Don´t insult me with such a demeaning challenge, Nickolas. I thought we were past that," he said carelessly.

The exclamation point above Sandy´s head evaporated.

Charlie´s eyes turned red again, and his posture seemed to relax.

"You cannot tell me that you expected things to always stay the same! Manny called Tooth after you met us, and you did not have problem with her, or helping her."

The doctor glanced at the young man before shaking his head a little.

"I have no problem with helping Jack. What I do have a problem with, is meeting an absurd 2,600 times more often than is necessary. It is outright foolishness, especially coming from you two," he said, indicating to North and Sandy. "You know it´s not needed, so don´t try to convince me that it is."

Sandy frowned, but did nothing else.

North took a deep breath and pursed his lips as he rubbed his forehead.

Bunny was a train going downhill with plenty of steam.

"Aside from that, I am still committed to doing everything I can to fulfill my oath. 52 extra hours in meetings are no part of that, so I will not waste my time by going to them. End of discussion," he said with another wave as he turned away.

North drove his chair a little closer to his comrade.

"Is not absurd to become better friends!" he urged, extending a hand but unable to reach the rabbit with it. "Manny called Jack, and now we need to learn how to be a team with him! Extra meetings will not hurt you, so do not be so nervous!"

Jack´s eyes darted from person to person, but he maintained his peace.

Bunny kept his front away from them all with a still posture, his hands clasped behind his back, presumably staring at either the wall or the table. Suddenly, one of his ears twitched toward the door, pulling his eyes with it.

The others followed his gaze.

Just outside the door, there were a handful of minion eggs huddled together in the hall. Their blinking red eyes peeked through the doorway, past Charlie and Edgar as they watched their master´s interaction silently.

Bunnymund shook his head at them, and they all seemed to deflate slightly as their red lights steadied.

"You´ve all got jobs to do; go do them," he ordered just as a stern parent would, raising an eyebrow and motioning for them to leave for emphasis. Most of them complied with a group "Tika!" before scampering metallically away.

Those who remained blinked at him and wiggled their hips.

Their boss folded his arms.

"I know that not all of the tunnels have been cleaned out. Get to work in them, or go help the supervisors; there´s no reason for you all to be here, so move along."

These ones blinked a little more before answering with their own "Tika," but the sounds weren´t as enunciated, and the volume was much softer. It took only four seconds for the hallway to be clear again, leaving only the two egg sentries at their posts.

North let out a soft sigh, drawing the attention of his friend. The large man smiled gently and began speaking with a lighter tone.

"Bunny. . . I am sorry for surprise you like this, but we do mean well. Fight with Pitch is over, so do not make excuses to push us away. You are guardian. You made oath. Your current priority should be getting close with us as team, not locking yourself alone down here as always and pretending to be busy."

There was a hiss as Bunnymund took a sharp intake of air, whipped around and balled his fists. North could see one of his green eyes tick as they glared into his blue ones.

Neither said anything for a few seconds, but Sandy had raised himself slightly from the bench, his eyes ricocheting between the two of them with a question mark and an x flicking above his head.

Jack decided it was time for him to put in his two cents, despite the weak feeling he had in his hands.

"Hey Bunny, before you burst your enormous ears off, just know that we´re wanting to meet more often so that we can make Team Guardians as hardcore as possible, and we can´t do it without you. If we could, then we wouldn´t be here bothering you like this."

Bunny´s green bullets shot to Jack, who looked back openly. After an analyzing moment, his eyes relaxed in the smallest degree, but he still said nothing.

"Tik Tik ooko kikeki rr Tik Tooka keeka rr aketea ki ek," added Charlie from his quiet station by the door, his eyes flickering from red to pink a few times.

Bunnymund gritted his teeth and turned to face his minion. Jack and North were astonished when the guardian answered Charlie using the same vowely ticking noises, but coming from him, the language sounded much more intelligent and fluid than it did when his robots used it. It also seemed sharp and precise as he snarled at his worker.

Sandy was the only one who didn´t seem completely taken aback.

Once Bunny finished his foreign lecture, Charlie retreated a step and quieted down. The light in his circles returned to red and dimmed slightly.

Bunny's green orbs stared into the wall as he took a few slow breaths. The fur on the back of his neck flattened itself gradually until he was finally ready to speak.

The others observed quietly as the seconds ticked on.

"That´s. . . that's considerate of you, Jack. But. . . I can´t commit to so much time." he answered as he shook his head slowly and twisted the buttons on his vest with one hand.

Sandy waved to them, indicating he wanted to speak.

"_Guardians together, Bunny, clock, wave."_

North´s eyes lit up, "Yes! If you are so upset, just come to as much as possible each meeting! Is no problem!"

Bunny´s eyes roved over theirs for a while before he looked away and sighed, rubbing his nose bridge. "This is not the time. . ."

He looked back at all of them, slowly making eye contact with each one, including and lingering on Charlie before shaking his head and finally speaking.

"I know I´ll regret this. . . I won´t promise that I´ll be to every meeting, but, I´ll come to. . .—" his eyes shot to Jack and seemed to narrow a bit "- . . . I´ll come to 25% of them. Fair?"

Sandy nodded at him with a wide smile and two thumbs up. There was a smiley face forming itself above his head as he did so. The other two guardians exchanged a wink and a tight smile before the tension dissolved completely.

"Thanks Cottontail," said Jack with a smile.

Bunny leaned against the table, next to his med case, and fingered the shiny silver buttons of his vest again.

"We´ll see how it goes," he frowned, staring out of the window in thought.

North looked at Sandy, who made a nod in the direction of the door with his head.

The Russian rolled his eyes slightly and sighed.

"Fine. We will see you in eight days. I assume you want to meet with both Jack and myself, yes?"

Bunny nodded, pulling his gaze away from the window and out of his thoughts.

"Yes. I´ll need about a quarter hour with you and at least an hour with Jack. What time is the meeting?"

Sandy signed "_3:00 PM."_

Bunnymund sighed and twitched his nose, then nodded again as he leaned further against the table.

"Fine. I´ll meet you, North, at 1:30. Jack, 1:45 just so I don´t have to rush through anything. Alright?"

The others nodded and made ready to leave.

Sandy and Jack stood up and brushed the crumbs off of their chests as North fished around in a pocket for something.

Bunnymund watched them, his fingers tapping against his arm and his frown deepening. After a moment he spoke.

"One more thing North," he said. He made eye-contact with the Russian, who now had a snow globe in hand.

The few sounds stilled as the others waited for the doctor to speak.

The whiskered guardian blinked slowly before doing so.

"When I asked for help with Easter, I didn't mean it as an open invitation to come here whenever it strikes your fancy. Don´t let it happen again."

North raised his eyebrows and was about to reply when an egg with a blue body and flashing yellow and orange eyes came rushing in, ticking frantically at Bunnymund. The doctor turned all of his attention to his minion, leaving North to simply narrow his eyes, purse his lips, and hurl the snow globe against the wall.

The last thing Sandy heard from the warren as he walked through the portal was Bunnymund´s voice.

"How did that happen? Run and tell Agatha I´ll be there again as soon as . . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**Leave a review if you enjoyed reading this chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts and inferences, even if you prefer not to answer the questions. **_

_**Guest**__: Thank you for your replies! About the cows. . . In this story, Bunnymund has his own milk cows to make the chocolates (as you guessed). Well done! Also, I think that Bunnymund would´ve responded better if North had confessed the way you suggested. . . Who knows? Maybe he´ll learn. . . I couldn´t help laughing at your "wait for my impending doomed lecture, while thinking 'here it comes' while mentally rolling my eyes." Ain´t that the truth! I´m glad I´m not the only one with a sassy voice in my head. I can´t wait to hear what you think about this chapter!_

_**Selkiesong22**__: Hey! Thanks so much for leaving a review, and for the high praise; it made me smile like an idiot for an hour. I´m so glad that you are enjoying the story so far. With regards to Jack. . . He didn´t strike me as being starved or bullied based on his reactions in the movie. I too love a good injured character story (as you will soon see; this is a Doctor story after all), but I don´t have anything big planned for Jack as of yet, seeing as this is Bunnymund´s story. However, I have been toying with the idea of a scene with a sick Jack. . . hm. . . I´m going to give it more consideration (because you brightly suggested it, which is wonderful!), but I make no promises; I´ll have to see if it fits and moves the plot along before I commit. _

_**Witchypoo Jules:**__ That is an adorable name. Thank you for your review, I am so pleased that you are enjoying the story so far! As I´ve mentioned before, the first chapters were the slowest, but things are on the downhill now, though not as fast as they will be. I promise, you will find out what is going on with Bunbun. . . perhaps even sooner than you think. _

_**Go Outside:**__ I know you didn´t leave a review, but you mentioned in your last one that there has been civil unrest where you live. I hope you are being careful! _

_Thank you so much to all of you. I hope to hear from you again next week! _

_**What do you think?**_

_Jack, Sandy, North and Tooth all agreed to meet together to build trust and teamwork. Do you think that Bunnymund is right to be annoyed? How would you feel if you were them? And if you were him? _

_What do you think North was referring to when he mentioned: the scar on the right side of his belly, a duel, and an accident with an experiment? (There´s no right or cannon answer, I would just like to hear your own creative ideas). _

_What are your thoughts about North´s comment: "Stop hiding alone down here and pretending to be busy?" _

_When was the last time that someone intentionally pushed you away, like Bunny did to North with his last comment? _


	11. An Understanding Frown

Chapter 11

**An Understanding Frown**

_Bunnymund watched them, his fingers tapping against his arm and his frown deepening. After a moment he spoke._

_"One more thing North," he said. He made eye-contact with the Russian, who now had a snow globe in hand._

_The few sounds stilled as the others waited for the doctor to speak._

_The whiskered guardian blinked slowly before doing so._

_"When I asked for help with Easter, I didn't mean it as an open invitation to come here whenever it strikes your fancy. Don´t let it happen again."_

_North raised his eyebrows and was about to reply when an egg with a blue body and flashing yellow and orange eyes came rushing in, ticking frantically at Bunnymund. The doctor turned all of his attention to his minion, leaving North to simply narrow his eyes, purse his lips, and hurl the snow globe against the wall._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 seconds later, at the Pole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I feel like that could´ve gone better. . ." said Jack softly as the three of them settled into the meeting room.

Sandy accepted a mug of eggnog before shrugging and moving to the window to send out his sand streams. North brushed cookie crumbs off of his beard before he answered.

"Yes, but it could have been worse as well. At least now he is not face of stone like before," he murmured thoughtfully.

Jack raised an eyebrow at this and tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean 'face of stone?'" he asked.

North huffed. "Is long story, but I will tell you another time, yes? I´m afraid I am not in the mood to tell that right now."

"No worries, we´ve got time," said Jack. "Right, Sandy?"

"_Thumbs up!" _

North began glaring at the fireplace.

"I have known him for very long time, but I still do not understand why he is always make himself so stubborn and too busy. And nervous!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, he seemed pretty chapped" said Jack hesitantly.

"_Bunny, bed"_ said Sandy from his window.

"And tired?" asked North, looking over. "No, he did not look tired to me, only nervous and busy, as always. . .I bet he's glad that Easter is not for another year, no? He has plenty of time to prepare."

The other two nodded.

Jack furrowed his brows and then turned to his elders.

"Do you think we should´ve offered to help him out with something? The Warren seemed a little weird. . . It wasn't like that a few days ago."

Sandy and North glanced at each other.

North sighed and looked back at Jack.

"Yes, I think you are right that Warren was strange," he said, stroking his beard. "But, really, I doubt very much that he would have agreed to let us stay to help. Besides, none of us have been there after Easter before. . . it could be the beginnings of his after-holiday rest for all that we know."

Jack waited for him to say more, but the large man seemed content to munch on his cookie for a while, so Jack looked at Sandy for clarification.

A few symbols flashed above his head, but Jack wasn't able to catch anything helpful.

"So, does he often tell you guys to buzz off?" guessed Jack.

North chuckled, but it could've been a scoff. Sandy just gave a shrug, and then a thoughtful nod.

The young man leaned on his staff and chewed the side of his cheek as he processed this. Meanwhile, Sandy downed an eggnog and North´s beard became tangle-free.

Eventually, Jack turned to North.

"Well, I´m sure that if he really needed help, he would ask us; like he did a few days ago for Easter, right?"

North gave a small smile, still tugging at his facial hair.

"Yes, you are probably right, lad. He is smart, and though he has many flaws, and is very difficult to understand him most of time. . . but he knows that we are his friends."

He nodded to himself and took another bite of cookie.

"We have all worked very hard to make sure he knows we are friends, right Sandy?" he asked, turning his eyes to him.

Jack followed his gaze and saw the Sandman floating by the window, fast asleep with an empty mug in hand.

The two guardians laughed softly to each other and shook their heads.

"Well, that settles that, I guess," whispered Jack.

North just chuckled again and ate another cookie.

"Speaking of tired," said Jack as he looked back at his sleeping friend. "Do you mind if I crash in that guest room again sometime? I´m in Russia a lot, and this place is closer to it than Burgess."

North shook his head and looked thrilled, letting out a crumby laugh. "Of course not, my boy! Is good as yours!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Five Hours Later, at the Warren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aster´s arms and legs shoved the rest of him out of the tunnel and into the charging prep room as his heart banged like a drum in his chest. His frayed yellow vest was now completely soaked, clinging stickily to him for the second time that day as he gasped for air and winced in pain.

"Agatha. . . numbers?!" he panted, pushing salty drips away from his eyes and leaning against the wall.

The small peachy egg scurried up and ticked sadly at him, shaking her small body as her flickering red and orange eyes dimmed.

"That´s still too low, damn it all!" he huffed with a scowl, reaching for the jug of water that she offered him.

Charlie came forward and held out a full tray of food that looked identical to the platter that was inadvertently served to their intruders a mere five hours earlier.

His master spent a few minutes to finish the water, taking frequent breaks to breathe. It took him longer than usual, and the wince in his furry features stayed in place the whole time.

"Thank you Charlie. You can put that on the table by the other things. . . I´ll get to them in a minute" he said finally.

"Tika," said Charlie, but he stayed in place, watching carefully as his master took his own pulse, frowned, and then hopped closer to him, grabbing a butter-colored carrot from the tray. He chewed it, and his eyes darted back and forth, looking at nothing but imaginary numbers. It was a look that Charlie in particular knew very well.

"Alright everyone," he said after devouring the whole root and grabbing another. Charlie´s three other coworkers perked up and waddled closer.

"Here´s the plan: We´ll take a quick recess, and then we´ll try this all again. For now, check on your stations and have the others report on their progress and any new changes that they´ve found. Meet back here in an hour. Go."

All of the eggs, save Charlie, scattered to the exits after shouting a community "Tika!"

Charlie held his ground, the platter still in hand as his red lighted circle eyes flicked orange a few times as he watched his Master.

Aster practically inhaled a good half of the platter before making eye-contact with his minion.

"Don´t look at me like that, Charles," he said as he chewed. "You know how this works. I need all of you awake in order to get everything done, and there´s no way to keep you all going without a constant charge of at least 84%."

"Tik Tik etakate. Tik etakatakate. Kartee err Tik orre," said Charlie, red turning to orange as he spoke.

Aster listened and gave a small smile before cramming some more food into his mouth.

"Thank you, but we have other priorities now, and I´m not going to let the children down again. Once I can get it up past 84%, maintaining the charge will be less strain."

Charlie stood a hair taller and took a step forward, the orange in his eyes brightening.

"Auu Tik etakate?"

"Yes," answered his master without hesitation. "Even then. Besides, this is nothing compared to a few decades ago," said Aster as he motioned to two ugly metal contraptions that were hung on the nearby wall, just above the table. They had several straps and buckles, and looked disturbingly like large three-toed feet.

Charlie said nothing, and kept his stern gaze on his master instead of turning away. As usual, his glare had little effect on the one he´d learned it from, but it was worth a try.

Aster finished the food, then began stretching his wet limbs.

"I appreciate you doing your job Charles, I really do. But for now, we just have to keep going until things get back to normal," he said.

Charlie kept staring.

His master frowned grimly at the floor.

The green egg intensified his glare.

His target took a deep breath, not seeming to notice the light as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Charles. . . I need you to bring me one of the white-wrapped chocolates from the small freezer," said Aster as his eyes raised to stare back.

Orange flicked briefly to yellow as Charlie shook his head, not even needing to think about it first.

Two green orbs stared evenly back, as still as stone.

"That wasn´t a suggestion, Charles."

The minion egg stood motionless for three full seconds before turning obediently away and waddling through the exit, the orange lights darkening to the usual red again as he focused on his task.

His master watched him go with an understanding frown on his wet face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**_Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter!_**

_**Selkiesong22**: Hello again! Responding to these reviews is one of my favorite parts of posting chapters, so if you ever have a question or thought, please don´t hesitate to send it in a review. I´ll be more than happy to answer!_

_**Guest****!** I want you to know that you are one of my favorite people on this earth. Your thoughts from last chapter were so helpful to me, and I enjoyed every answer. So, thank you! Now, I was very impressed by your very clever explanation of how North got a scar on his stomach, and why duels were mentioned. If ever you make that a story, please PM me so that I can read it. It would be so interesting to see how Bunny and North´s attitudes would change from before the duel, to after, to the experiment accident, and after again. Very intriguing!_

_Also, I´m glad things worked out with you and your friend. Junior High sucked for me (as I´m sure it did for most people), but I´m glad that you were able to make it out with a friend by your side._

**_What do you think?_**

_What have you observed about North and Bunny´s relationship so far, versus North and Sandy´s, or Bunny and Sandy´s?_

_What do you think the disagreement between Charlie and Bunnymund was about?_

_Have any of your questions about what Bunny has been up to been answered from this chapter?_

_Have you ever been the new guy in an established group, like Jack? What helped you to learn the ropes?_


	12. Less Stubborn Than You

Chapter 12

**Less Stubborn Than You**

North rounded the doorway into his office, nearly bowling over the dozes of elves who were setting up an ambush of wrapping paper, ribbons and medical bandages near his desk, which happened to be exactly where Doctor Bunnymund was in the habit of standing whenever he came to help North after he broke a finger or got hit too hard during a hockey game; which happened more often than the large man liked to admit.

The rainbow elf looked up at him enthusiastically as he pointed to the tangle of supplies and jumped up and down, ringing his bell with ear-aching enthusiasm. He had his hands raised up on his head, making them look like small rabbit ears.

North made a quick guess as to who the ambush was for, and pulled on his best smile. He nodded his head, giving them a thumbs-up with one hand as the other stumbled to put his chair into reverse.

Once the elf was satisfied with Santa´s praise, he went back to work, ordering his voluntary subordinates around with soundless pointing and bossy expressions as North slowly backed away.

Once he was out of sight, he shook his head and widened his eyes.

"I admit, new obsession with bandages I did not predict." He said to no one in particular.

A nearby yeti grumbled some gobbledygook in response, making his boss nod.

"All of them from supply cabinet? Well, let us hope no one needs them anytime soon," replied North. He gave wide-eyed shudder and added "At least bandages do not start fires like last obsession. . . We will leave them to it, no? Maybe it will bring peace for more than five minutes at a time," he mused.

The yeti shrugged in response as North slid a thick roll of wrapping paper through the door handles, locking them shut from the outside.

"That should hold them off. If Bunny comes this way first, tell him to meet me in meeting room instead of my office as usual, da?" he said as he turned his chair and made his way to the elevator.

_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ 27 minutes later, in the Meeting Room_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

"Those are all the exercises I want you to do for now. Any questions?"

North stopped drumming his fingers and smiled.

"Yes! Can I stop sitting in chair all day?"

Bunny raised his eyebrows and the corner of his lips curled slightly.

"After you put in so much effort into altering it? It would be a shame to lock it away in a closet so soon."

North gave the doctor an annoyed look.

"It was fun to begin with, but now I hate it."

Bunny smiled a little more.

"I´m fine with you using crutches, as long as your foot never touches the ground. Understood?"

"Yes, yes!" answered North, smiling gleefully, troubles forgotten as he called a yeti over, speaking to her in urgent excitement.

Bunny stood up from his rabbit-crouch, rolled his sleeves down and stretched slowly before looking through the various medical supplies he had brought in a black and tan satchel that was larger than the one he usually carried. He glanced over at his patient and spoke when the yeti left.

"I want to meet with you again in a week, so if you skip out on the exercises or you put any weight on that foot at all, I´ll know."

North was too excited to give a care about the threat.

Bunnymund stopped sifting through his supplies and took a pocket watch out of the purple vest he was sporting and checked the time.

"1:41. Did Jack mention where he would be before coming here?" asked Bunny, his nose twitching ever so slightly.

North drove to the window, looking out quickly before answering.

"I´m sure he will be here soon. He said he was going out to collect teeth with Tooth before the meeting."

Bunny´s ear twitched a few times as he pulled out the same leather notebook Charlie had brought to him a week earlier, leafing through it slowly.

North´s eyebrows raised slightly as he saw an angry mob of elves trudging their way toward him, brandishing bandage rolls and ribbons above their furious faces. North checked the clock.

_Well, that trick lasted nearly half an hour! _He thought to himself before forgetting about them again.

"You seemed very busy last time I saw you," probed North as he drove back over to his friend.

"Yes, I am very busy; which is why I am opposed to wasting an extra 78 hours on unnecessary meetings this year. Did he say when he would be back?"

"No, but he still has time. It is important for us to be patient with him. He needs our support and friendship as he adjusts to his new life," said North, indicating to the glowing globe behind him.

Bunny retrieved his stone from the satchel and made his way back to North´s leg, bringing the notebook and a pen. Before he reached his destination, however, the elves got to him; crowding around his feet and wrapping a slew of ribbons and bandages around his ankles.

North´s brow furrowed and his face reddened.

"What are you all doing?! He is my guest, leave him alone and go be trouble somewhere else!" he rebuked, driving closer and waving them away.

The elves froze and looked at him, but then almost simultaneously narrowed their eyes to glare at him as they grudgingly obeyed.

Bunny, for his part, didn´t appear to be upset. In fact, he looked almost amused as he watched them.

"It´s alright North, they mean no harm," he said bluntly.

Taken aback by the harsh Dr. Bunnymund´s gentle reply, North blinked a few times and shrugged.

"I am sorry. They have been obsessed with these things since last week when they saw you work."

Bunny let out a huffy chuckle and made his way out of the hastily disappearing bandage trap.

"Strange little things, aren´t they?" he mused aloud.

North grimaced.

"Too strange, I think."

By now the elves were making up for lost opportunities by wrapping each other up with gusto instead of their furry victim. What made the scene more adorably odd was that they would decorate their mummy-like elf friends with bright curls of ribbon on top of the bandages, taking turns until all but the rainbow one were "medically tended to" with holiday style.

The odd man out just glared at the two guardians with his arms crossed and an impatient tapping foot.

Bunny shook his head briefly as he watched their antics, but then suddenly blinked and reached into a pocket.

"Frost is going to be late." He said flatly as he checked his watch again.

North´s attention went back to his friend, and he took a deep breath.

"Like I say, is important for us to be patient with Jack. He has much to learn and many new responsibilities now.

Bunny sighed and turned to North.

"Yes, he has. But, he knew what he was getting into." He said as he crouched down and looked through his rock at North´s leg for the fourth time that day.

"It´s not like he was forced or threatened into it like some of us." He murmured clearly.

North snorted.

"Is true, he is less stubborn than you!" He said with a smile.

Bunny kept his face to the rock, but let out a humorless scoff.

North´s smile faded as he watched the doctor work. "Do not be surprised if he takes a little time to adjust," he said after a thoughtful moment.

Bunny began drawing something in the notebook with his right hand as he kept the rock in place against his eye with his left.

"If he goes back to behaving himself like a careless prankster, I won´t be surprised; only disappointed," he said as he rapidly made a few strokes on the page without looking away from the injury.

North´s eyes widened. "You are forgetting something very important, my friend. Jack saved all of us from Pitch, and he made the children believe in you again! He never betray us, and is working very hard these last days to get to know all of us. . .except you."

Bunny scoffed again, but kept sketching.

"I think you scared him off last week, though I doubt he would ever admit it," said North.

Bunny continued his drawing, but let out a short hum. Whether he was humming to agree with North, express regret or amusement, or show North that he was listening, wasn´t clear.

The large man pursed his lips for a second before narrowing his eyes and speaking again.

"Maybe you should follow his example, instead of trying to prove you were right about him."

Bunny was silent as he pulled his face away from the cast and looked at his right hand´s work. He added a few dozen lines of shading here and there before standing, waving the book back and forth to presumably dry the ink, then moving to set down both the book and the stone on the coffee table. Then he turned back to his patient.

"You´re mistaken. I don´t want him to fail. In fact, I hope he proves me wrong again and again. I´m just not ready to bet all of my money on him, so to speak."

This time, North scoffed. "If you are so worried, maybe you should focus on helping him instead of doubting him!" he said seriously.

Bunny raised a brow. "Why do you think I´m here twiddling my thumbs instead of working in my warren?" he said coolly as he reached for his pocket again. "And. . . he´s now late," he added, looking at his pocket watch.

"Well, he was not the one who was late for the last appointment, remember?" retorted North.

Bunny rolled his eyes and a yeti came in, holding an old-fashioned pair of crutches and scattering the mummy elves as they ran to the corners of the room. North´s eyes lit up and he pulled himself out of the tank-chair while beckoning the yeti to move faster. Once he was secure with the crutches, he began pacing in front of the fireplace with intermittent chuckles, his mood clearly improved.

"Speaking of being nice, you should know that Jack and Tooth have been spending much time together this week," he said off-handedly a minute or two later. "She seems happier than I´ve ever seen her before, and so does he. If you´re in need of conversation piece, you may consider encouraging him in his pursuit of our Tooth Fairy."

Bunny´s left eye twitched, but he said nothing. Instead, he watched his patient pace back and forth with his new crutches as he silently tugged at the strings that tied his vest closed.

North was about to say something more when another yeti rushed in with a message for him. The large man nodded and began hobbling after her, but he looked back at his friend before leaving.

"I must go check something. You are alright waiting here, yes?"

Bunny hummed back and walked over to an armchair, picking up his book on the way, and settling himself in to wait.

North turned his attention to the elves.

"You all, do not touch him or do anything to him, understand?" he ordered as he gave them the stink eye just before turning the corner.

By now they were all too busy playing in the pile of pillows to hear him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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**_To my fabulous reviewers (you guys are the best!):_**

_**Leon:** Thanks for leaving a review! I'm not going to give any spoilers, but I will say that your idea makes a lot of sense. We shall see. . . Thanks again for leaving a comment, and I hope to hear your thoughts and guesses again soon!_

_**Guest!:** Hi! I loved reading your thoughts on Bunny and North´s relationship. I think you´re right, they tend to push each other, though sometimes I wonder if they realize it. It´s fun to see. X-men, yeah, that made me laugh! I love the name Charlie, which is why I used it for the main Chaek, but I didn´t even think of Charles Xavier or Hugh Jackman. Whoops! Hey, thanks for leaving a review, I really really do love reading yours! The answers that you give are extremely helpful to me._

_**Selkiesong22:** Hello! I´m thrilled that you´re enjoying the story. About Jack being undead. . . I´m sorry to say that in this story, most spirits had to die to become who they are now. But, I hope that doesn´t dissuade you from reading further! Jack is in the next several chapters, and I get the feeling that he´s your favorite so I look forward to hearing your thoughts._

_**Shellycat:** Hey thanks for leaving another review! Long time no see! I´m so glad that you´re still reading. Once again, your inference is very well thought out and creative. . . I´m glad you shared it with me. I won´t spoil anything, but I promise that we´ll see more of Charlie. . . Please leave another review with your thoughts coming up!_

**_What do you think?_**

_What are Bunny´s feelings toward Jack compared to North´s?_

_This is the first time we´ve seen a one on one with North and Bunny (though to be honest, they´re going to be the two guardians that we see the most of-but don´t worry, the others are far from forgotten). Are there any interactions that you´re hoping to see with the two of them? Which direction do you see their friendship going from where they are now?_

_North did a lot of side-stepping in _Chapter 9 What Meeting_, and makes some big assumptions in C_hapter 10 Your Current Priority_. Do you think he´s improved his communication with Bunny in this chapter as compared to those?_

_Have you ever had a neice/nephew/younger sibling/cousin who was always underfoot, helping (hindering?) you at every chance they got?_


	13. More Than Bare Minimum

Chapter 13

**More Than Bare Minimum**

Jack flew up to North´s office window. He could see the large man inside, looking over some papers with a yeti to his right. Jack smiled and pulled the window open with the new lever North had had installed on the outside just a few days before, letting in a flurry of snow.

"Ah Jack! How was your day with our favorite Tooth?" asked North with a smile as he looked up at his friend.

"It was fine," said Jack as his cheeks turned pink. "She says ´hello´, by the way. And Sandy´s coming! We passed him on our way through Texas." He grinned as he closed the window behind him. "Sorry I´m a few minutes late. Is the rodent here?"

North gave a small chortle and nodded his head.

"Yes, he is in meeting room, and I warn you: he is grumpy."

Jack winced and pursed his lips. "That´s too bad. . . You wanna come with me?"

North chuckled and nodded his head again, motioning to the door with one of his crutches.

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A short walk and an elevator ride later, they snuck into the meeting room. Instead of a lecture, the only thing that greeted them was soft snoring, and a shushing from a few elves who were building a tower of two-dozen bandage rolls at the foot of the only occupied armchair. Bunny´s ever alert ears were relaxed, draped over the back of the armchair like a stack of papers over the edge of a table. He had apparently fallen asleep while reading, as his notebook was open, one hand supporting the spine loosely and the other marking his place on the handwritten page. His lips were slightly parted and his eyes danced to and fro underneath his eyelids. The gentle snores were interrupted only by a few short moans here and there, as if he was speaking to someone in his dreams.

"Aw, that´s sweet, North! I didn´t know you had naptimes for your stuffed animal department," said Jack with a small smile.

North chuckled soundlessly, but held a finger up to his lips at Jack as his eyes twinkled. The Russian looked back over at his sleeping friend before pounding his fist in the air and smiling widely, as if his favorite team had just one a game.

Jack´s brow furrowed, but he couldn´t help smiling at the childish action coming from such an imposing figure.

Said figure was now tiptoeing his way over to a pile of pillows, or, more specifically, the basket of blankets that resided just next to it.

Jack watched him with a confused yet anticipatory expression before floating soundlessly after him.

The two of them crept over to the sleeping figure, who was now mumbling something along the lines of _"I haven´t gotten it yet. . ."_ The excitement left Jack´s eyes when he realized that his elder wasn't planning anything nefarious. Instead, the large man gently, gently removed the book from under Bunny´s hand and slid it onto the armrest before breathlessly draping the blanket over his friend. Seeing no signs of waking, North backed up slowly until he felt comfortable enough to whisper to Jack.

"Jack, this is cause to celebrate!"

The young man stared at him.

"This is the first time that Bunnymund has ever slept here!" North cheered, barely stopping himself from doing a dance.

Jack gave him a weird look.

"What do you mean? I thought you two were best friends!" he whispered, gesturing to the slumbering rabbit.

North´s expression faltered just a bit as the rabbit muttered something else to no one.

"He. . . he is tough egg to crack," confessed the Russian. Jack leaned on his staff, waiting for more explanation.

"You probably think that he is grumpy, but he has opened up very much since I first met him," said North thoughtfully. "In fact, sometimes I try to get on his nerves because that is the only way that I find to get him to say more than bare minimum."

North´s eyebrows shot up and he glanced at Jack, who was listening intently.

"But, do not tell him that! It has worked until now, but I think that if he knew, then he would stop himself next time."

"_No, I have to get back. . ."_ said Bunny, adjusting his position slightly before snoring again.

North smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"I have waited long time for him to feel comfortable enough to let down his guard here, and look! He is resting just fine instead of being jumpy and by himself like always!"

Jack sniggered, earning a shushing from the elves, which he shrugged off.

"I don't think he'll ever get over being 'jumpy', North. That's a lot to ask of a rabbit." He whispered, making his friend chuckle again.

"Hehe, very pun-funny!"

Just then, the sleeping guardian muttered something else.

"_Mm, Primula, I´ll be back soon. You gonna stay?"_

The two regarded their friend for a moment before Jack spoke.

"Do you think we should just let him be for now? I can stay after the meeting for the medical stuff."

North nodded slowly, grinned, and gestured for them to leave. They stepped quietly away, careful to avoid the growing tower of bandages that the elves were still laboring on near Bunny´s feet.

"I bet he´ll be less grumpy when he wakes up," hushed Jack once they were past the obstacle.

North opened his mouth to reply, but stopped as their friend murmured something else.

"_I´ll miss you, Primula. . . I love you Darling. . ."_

The two humans froze. Then their eyes shot to each other, and then to their sleeping friend.

"He has a girlfriend?!" whispered Jack to North, his whisper hardly counting as a whisper.

"I´ve never heard him mention her before! This is wonderful! Do you know a Primula Spirit?" urged North.

Jack shook his head.

"No, I´ve never heard of that name before, but it sounds Springish. The only girl spirits that I know talk to him are Tooth and Tammora," he shrugged, wide-eyed.

Just then, Sandy floated in from the hallway.

His eyebrows shot up and he smiled as soon as he saw Bunny's sleeping form. He then looked at Jack and North with curiosity in his eyes and his hands open. There was a sand question mark above his head.

"Sandy, you must know," whispered North, skipping a greeting altogether and waving the Sandman closer. "Who is spirit named Primula?"

The Sandman thought about this, but shook his head and shrugged after a few seconds. He then furrowed his brows and extended his hands again, another question mark forming itself above his head.

"_I don´t want to do this. . ." _murmured Bunny from a few feet away, still sound asleep.

Sandy´s attention sprang to his sleeping friend, an expression of surprise and deep intrigue on his face. He floated closer to the sleeping guardian, his smile getting wider by the second. There were two hands clapping above his head now.

"He was talking to someone named Primula, saying he loved her!" whispered Jack.

Sandy kept his gaze on Bunny, but pressed his lips into an excited _Oooh_! He then clapped his real hands silently as a plethora of random symbols flashed above him.

He looked positively elated.

North leaned in to see what his golden friend was so excited about. Jack did the same. After a minute of Jack and North watching Sandy intently, Sandy watching Bunny intently, and Bunny letting out only a short mumble or two between soft snores intently, North broke the tension.

"Sandy, can you show us what he´s dreaming!? I want to see her!"

Sandy, apparently jolted out of his trance, looked at North with an honest face. He then shrugged and nodded slowly, but then changed the nod to a shake of his head as he narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together.

"Why not? We could see the carrots after Abby attacked him, remember?" asked Jack.

Sandy just smiled at his young friend and shook his head, turning to look back Bunny and clasping his hands behind his back. The rabbit sighed deeply, furrowed his brows and changed position, nudging the book on his armrest, tipping it over the side.

SLAP!

Bunny´s eyes shot open and he sat up like lightening.

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_**Happy Halloween, y Feliz Día De Los Muertos!** (I know I´m late, but I had a lot of studying to do before I could prepare this second chapter)._

_**To My Fabulous Reviewers:**_

_**Guest**! As always, you made my day! I completely understand what it's like to have a nephew at your heels. I have more than I can keep track of, and I can only handle them for two days at most before I start ripping my hair out. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on last chapter. It was a set-up chapter, so not a whole lot happened, but I´m grateful to you for taking the time to answer my questions anyway._

_**Go Outside:** Hey! I´m glad you're alright! I know that we don´t know each other (at all), but I was legitimately worried about you. Thanks for leaving a review, and I´m glad that you think the chapters are great. Also, I love the word "Curmudgeonly." I´m going to try to use it coming up._

_**READ THIS!**_

_**To put future disappointments to rest, and in response to Double 0 Ninja, who I already PM´d:** I do not want you to read something that makes you uncomfortable, so I fully support your choice to stop reading this fic. Since I´m trying to follow the gist of what I saw in the movie, I have chosen to pair Tooth with Jack, since it was quite clear (to me) that she had a crush on him. Jack also seemed to be immature, but closer to 18 than any other age. On the other side, Tooth struck me as very young, but responsible and experienced. They are also both immortal, which makes me willing to smooth the cultural line in the sand on that. As I have mentioned multiple times, Jack and Tooth will be seen on the sidelines, as this is Bunnymund's story, not theirs. And who knows? This is only the beginning of this story. . . Jack may yet grow up. . ._

_All of the romantic relationships that we will see in this fic will be heterosexual. Jack and Tooth will be mentioned together, and there'll be another love interest between two adults much later on. There will be no mentions of sex._

_There will be some violence and blood. This is a doctor fic, after all, and it has been rated T from the very beginning. If you´re comfortable watching LOTR Extended versions, then you probably won´t have a problem with this. Oh, and there might be mentions of suicide, but only mentions, and I´ll leave a note before the chapter starts about them anyway. _

_If any of this is a problem for you, then you should probably stop reading this fic now. I'm certain that you will find other fics that hold your interest, so good luck and best wishes!_

_**WHAT DO YOU THINK?:**_

_Any new thoughts about North´s interactions with Bunny? Do you think he´s right to push Bunny´s buttons in order to get him to open up?_

_Why do you think Sandy was so excited that Bunny was asleep?_

_Why do you think he refused to show the others Bunny´s dream?_

_Why do you think Bunny has never slept at the Pole before? Does that surprise you?_

_Have you ever been caught sleeping by a group of friends, or have you found someone else sleeping? Were pranks pulled?_

_See you all next week!_


	14. Strike Two

Chapter 14

**Strike Two**

SLAP!

Bunny´s eyes shot open and he sat up like lightening.

"—I won´t do it!" he sputtered, looking around wildly.

The other three guardians took this as their chance to back up and feign innocence, turning their backs to him as quick as a wink, and staring into the fire nearby.

"Which was funny, because I had just seen him a few hours earlier- hey, Bunny´s awake!" improvised Jack.

They turned slowly, in sync, to see Bunny composing himself as he looked for his book.

"Ah, Bunny, how was your snooze?" asked North, hiding his disappointment with a casual tone.

Bunny´s eyes darted back forth between his friends, the blanket, and the space in between. He cleared his throat a few times and blinked rapidly as if to wake himself up.

"Um, I, uh. . . I´m, um. . . I´m so sorry, I did not mean to, um, to fall asleep," he blurbled.

"Is nothing to apologize for, you may take as many naps as you need here! You are always welcome to make yourself at home," hinted North with a now smug grin.

Bunnymund cleared his throat and removed the blanket with one hand. He rubbed his eyes with other before making eye-contact with Sandy and furrowing his brows.

Sandy raised his hands as if in surrender and shook his head.

Bunny blinked a few more times, noticed the bandage tower next to his feet and shifted his focus to the elves who were looking far too pleased with themselves and pointing excitedly from the 24 bandages, to him, and back.

Jack watched Bunny huff through his nose as he looked down at them. Then he smiled slightly and shook his head at their rainbow-clad leader, earning many small scowls and silent threats in return.

Meanwhile, Sandy and North entered a deep habitual conversation about the most important qualities of mince pies.

"You know," said Jack as he walked up to the doctor, "if you´re tired, we can re-schedule this again."

Bunny turned to him quickly, looking at Jack with a blank expression for a full two seconds before seeming to register what he had said.

"Oh! Um, no. No, thank you Jack." He said as he broke eye-contact to rub his face. "No. I´d like to finish this all today." He yawned, and looked around for his satchel. Upon finding it, he checked the contents and stretched his neck quickly before turning back to the young man.

"I´ve, um, asked North to set aside another room to allow you more privacy and less interruptions. Are you ready?" he asked, holding back another yawn. Jack nodded.

Bunny turned to North, who was now describing the best slice of pecan pie that he´d ever tasted to a very engaged Sandy.

"North, would you mind telling me which room you had prepared?" interrupted Bunny after checking his pocket watch.

North paused his conversation. "Of course, I will take you there!" he smiled as he straightened his crutches and set off. Sandy, Jack and Bunny followed. North continued his detailed description on the way as he ignored the few elves who were running in pursuit, the bandage strips flying like tails behind them.

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"Bunny, I really don´t mind if they stay. We´re all guys here, right?" said Jack as he pulled off his hoodie.

Bunny shooed the elves out of the room and closed the door before they could come back in. He looked back at the others as he straightened out his coat collar. "Fine. Just don´t distract me, got it? If you do, you´re out," said the doctor as he looked pointedly at the two others.

North and Sandy nodded obediently and sat down on the padded chairs North had had placed in the map room. The walls were lined with shelves of scrolls and books, but the room itself was just large enough for the four guardians to fit comfortably. The curtains on the large window were pulled back, letting in plenty of light. Bunny turned to a certain page in his book, scanned it, and began setting out his medical tools. Jack was sitting on a chair, twisting his hands around his staff.

"You´re not going to make this painful on purpose, right?" he asked with a forced smirk. Bunny glanced at him before shaking his head.

"Probably not. Most of this will just be me poking and prodding and asking you questions. Would you say you´ve been feeling healthy and normal this last week?"

Jack nodded and relaxed. "Yeah, I´m feeling fine."

"Good. Just after Easter, before Sandy came back, Pitch threw you hard into a dumpster, but you didn´t seem phased. Are you usually so resistant to hits like that?"

Jack considered this, then shrugged. "I´ve fallen out of some pretty tall trees and the wind drops me sometimes, but I´ve always been fine afterwards for the most part. If something hurts, I usually just sleep it off in a snowbank for a few days."

Bunny nodded, wrote something in his book, then hopped over and pressed his ear to Jack´s forehead.

"What are you doing?" asked Jack suspiciously.

"Taking your temperature. Hold still."

"Why don´t you do it with your hand? Most doctors do it with their hands."

Bunny didn´t answer for another minute before turning to write something in the book. He turned back and extended his hand towards Jack, displaying his thick, velvety palm.

"My hands aren´t like those of most doctors," he said as he lowered his arm and hopped forward.

"Turn your head toward the others."

Jack obeyed, and Bunny pressed his ear to his neck.

"So, I get that you´ve got fur, but I still don´t get why you use your ears. It´s kind of weird."

Bunny straightened up and looked at the teen.

"Keep quiet. I need to concentrate." He leaned forward again, pressing his ear against Jack´s neck and looking at his pocket watch.

North smiled, shaking his head and shrugging all while gesturing to Bunny, making the young guardian grin as he remembered the "_bad bedside manner, Bunny. Very bad!" _conversation from a week earlier.

All was still for a minute, until the doctor stood up and scribbled something in the book.

"Hey North, we should have milkshakes after the meeting," whispered Jack.

Bunny´s ear twitched, but he soon turned back, this time with his rock in hand.

"Lean forward, just a bit," he said as he looked at Jack´s spine, his eye against the stone.

Jack was quiet for ten seconds before speaking again.

"What are you doing now?"

". . . Looking at your spine," said Bunny flatly. "Stand up so I can see your posture." Jack complied.

"How do you see through a rock?"

The doctor didn´t answer, instead he looked at Jack´s neck through the stone. Soon the Pooka turned away to write something else in the book.

"Breathe deep, I´m gonna look at your chest now."

Jack obeyed, but insisted.

"Is it a magic rock?"

Bunny's ear twitched again, making Sandy chuckle. Seeing this, Jack pushed further.

"Can all Bunnies see through rocks, or are you special?"

Bunny stopped, raised an eyebrow and straightened up to his full height.

"Look Frostbite, I know you have the attention span of a three-year old, but this isn´t going to take long, and I´m sure North will more than happy to oblige you with a cookie if you behave yourself. Now belt up, and let me do my job."

Bunny began crouching again, but stopped with a roll of his green eyes as soon as Jack pressed on.

"But I really want to know what you´re doing! You´re the only immortal doctor that I´ve ever heard of! It won´t hurt you to answer some questions."

Bunny sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "That may be true, but I still need to focus, and your constant questions are making it difficult-" he glowered at the teenager "-not that you didn´t know that."

North and Sandy were now smiling and chuckling softly. But not softly enough, since Bunny turned to glare at them.

"Strike two," he said pointedly.

"_Baseball,_ _1, ?" _signed Sandy with an indignant expression.

The Doctor merely ramped up his glare instead of answering, so, North and Sandy chose to cover their mouths and quiet down.

"But last week you were talking with North the whole time!" pushed Jack.

"Well that´s because I have to freeze my tail off an average of six times per century to help _that_ Gumby recover from some careless injury!" he growled with a stiff point at North.

Said Gumby frowned and began counting something on his fingers as his brow furrowed in thought.

The doctor continued.

"I know his physiology very well, but yours is very different and I´ve never had to treat a winter spirit before. Now, as I said, be quiet and let me concentrate." Bunnymund hissed, looking at Jack as if daring him to speak again.

The teen narrowed his eyes and obliged.

"I´ll be quiet, _if_ you agree to answer all my questions after this. Deal?"

Bunny breathed out slowly through his nose and narrowed his own eyes before replying.

"If it´ll make you shut up, then fine. Now take a deep breath, and exhale slowly."

He went back to looking through his stone, completely missing the mischievous smile on his patients face.

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**_To my supercalifragialisticexpialidocious reviewers: _**

**_Shellycat: _**_Once again, your suspicions are very methodical and rational; thank you for sharing! I like your guess, and it makes a lot of sense. We shall see. . . Also, your thought that North is the one who found him is very interesting. Personally, I love fics that show Bunny meeting the others for the first time, which is why we will see my version of that event in later chapters. I hope you share what you think about it when we get there! _

**_Go Outside: _**_I´m glad that you're still alive, that things are getting better, that you´re still reading this fic and leaving excellent reviews. They really do give me warm butterflies! I agree with you when you say that it´s nice to see people letting their guard down around you. I think some people do it quicker than others, like Jack asking to stay in the guest room versus Bunny falling asleep in the chair for the first time in centuries. I hope to hear your thoughts again on this chapter! _

**_Guest!:_**_ I loved your review, as always! I know I keep asking about your thoughts regarding Bunny and North´s relationship, but it has so much to it that I can´t help myself. You´ve mentioned how it´s terse; relaxed or dominating, violent or helpful, etc. I love knowing your thoughts about it, seeing as they´ll be the most prominent characters in this story, so I hope that you don´t mind the redundant quieries. We´ll be tilting toward the AU side of this story pretty soon and I´m excited to hear what your thoughts are. Thanks for your feedback! _

**_What do you think?_**

**_1\. How do you think the conversation between Jack and Bunny would have been if North hadn´t told Jack about Bunny´s weakness of answering annoying questions? _**

**_2\. What differences do you note between Bunnymund´s reactions to Jack and North´s questioning techniques, and why do you think that is so? _**

**_3\. Based on this chapter, how do you think they´re all getting along as a team and with each other individually (except Tooth, for now). _**

**_4\. How do you feel about visits to the doctor? Any traumatic experiences you´d like to share? _**

See y'all next weekend!


	15. Promise?

Chapter 15

**Promise?**

"_I´ll be quiet, if you agree to answer all my questions after this. Deal?"_

_Bunny breathed out slowly through his nose and narrowed his own eyes before replying._

_"If it´ll make you shut up, then fine. Now take a deep breath, and exhale slowly."_

_He went back to looking through his stone, completely missing the mischievous smile on his patient's face._

_. . . . . . . . . . 38 __minutes later. . . . . . . . . . _

"So, I don´t usually need to sleep during winter or summer since I´m busy making it snow somewhere. I do get really tired during spring and fall, though."

"When you sleep, do you use a blanket?"

"Yeah, it helps to keep me cool. Unless I´m sick or have a fever or something. Then I usually just crash in some snow, like I told you before."

"I see. And when do you get fevers?"

"Only when I´ve been somewhere hot for a long time, or get food poisoning."

"How long is a long time?"

"I don´t know. More than six hours I guess? I´ve flown over the Sahara before, and even spent the night there once or twice, but as long as I get out in time I´m fine."

"Do fires bother you?"

"Not much, unless I´m too close for a long time."

"Again Frost, how long, how close?"

"Two or three hours? And just close enough to feel hot. I´m fine if I´m sitting on the couches in the meeting room with the fire for as long as I want, but any closer and I´d have to cool off outside after a while."

Bunny took some notes and reviewed what he had written over the course of the appointment. "Anything else you can think of that I might need to know?"

Jack pondered this and shook his head. "Nope. But if I think of something, I´ll keep you posted."

Bunny hummed, his eyes still glued to his book. Jack turned his head to the other guardians with a bored look on his face.

Eventually, the doctor looked up. "Good. Now all I need is a blood sample, and we´re done."

Jack paled, eyes wide and he turned his head slowly back to the doctor. "I thought you said it wasn´t going to hurt!" he accused. Sandy chuckled in his chair silently.

"I said it probably wouldn´t. Look away if you need to, I´m sure Sandy or North would be happy to provide a distraction," said Bunny mechanically. He retrieved a vial and a needle with a tube, some swabs, and a tourniquet. Jack wiggled in his chair, and North began sweating.

"We could always do this before the next meeting, right?" asked Jack, a fake smile on his face as his icy eyes met stone green ones.

"Frost, this will take less than a minute if you cooperate. Would you like Sandy to knock you out?" asked the doctor as he organized his tools on the table.

Jack considered it for a few seconds.

". . . No, I´m good."

Sandy looked disappointed, and Bunny pulled the table closer.

"Alright then. Breathe normally, and look at those two," he said as he crouched down and tied the tourniquet. "Sandy, keep an eye on North as you talk to Frost, would you?" he asked after glancing at the large, pale Russian.

Sandy obliged, and started telling a story about spaceships and stars as Bunny found a vein.

Within forty seconds he was extracting the needle and pressing a cotton ball to the puncture.

"All done. Bend your arm—yes, like that." He placed the vial of blood in a container, lightly bandaged Jack´s arm and began cleaning up. "How do you feel? Nauseous? Dizzy?"

Jack shook his head, looking at his pale arm. "I´m good. Needles don´t bother me too much, it´s just blood that gets me sometimes."

The doctor carefully disposed of a few things in a nearby trash bin. "Thank goodness for that," he said, glancing pointedly at North. The Russian looked away and folded his arms. Sandy smiled.

Soon, Bunny had everything cleaned up and was scribbling in his book again.

"You´re planning on staying here now, yes?" he asked Jack.

North smiled proudly as the teenager nodded.

"Not all of the time, but North said I can hang out when I´m in the area."

Bunnymund hummed before turning to the Russian.

"Feed him when he´s here; he´s on the thin side-" he pointed at the guardian "—and you know I mean! Not that sugary crap you poison yourself with."

Jack looked put-out as North nodded seriously.

"Of course not!" he proclaimed. But he winked at Jack as the doctor turned to check his book one more time.

"Alright. We´re done," said Bunnymund, motioning towards the door with his head.

The other three stood up and headed for the door as he checked his pocket watch: _2:42_. He followed them out and back to the meeting room where they were greeted by hot chocolate, eggnog, and for the first time, peppermint tea. The elves followed them back, posting themselves and their bandages as close to doctor as they could without getting reprimanded by North.

Once they were all seated, and taken various mugs, Jack leaned over casually toward Bunny.

"So, you said that I could ask you questions later, remember?"

Bunny looked up from stirring his tea; his good humor apparently returning.

"What do you want to know, Frost?"

Jack smiled and settled into his chair more comfortably. "Why do you use your ears instead of your hands to check for temperatures?"

Bunny smiled slightly. "It´s simple. The backs of my ears are very sensitive to temperatures and slight movements, much like your hands. My own hands _can_ sense temperature and movement, but not half as well as a human´s," he said as he once again displayed his palm for Jack to see.

The velvety pads did indeed look very calloused, thick and tough.

"Anything else?" Bunny asked as he went back to stirring his mug of tea.

"Yeah. What´s with the enchanted rock?"

Sandy´s eyes lit up and he scooted closer to the conversation. Bunny took a sip of tea before answering.

"It´s not enchanted. It´s a rare kind of obsidian that I altered years ago. I call it an eyestone but I´m sure there´s a more appropriate name for it somewhere. There´s nothing magical about it, it´s just extremely efficient," he said as he bent down to retrieve said stone from his satchel.

"Here, take a look, but don´t drop it," he said, handing the stone to Jack. Sandy scooted closer, eyes wide with curiosity. North also looked intrigued, but that´s not surprising.

"I can´t see anything," said Jack after a minute of trying to look inside his left hand. Bunny smiled and Sandy released a breath he hadn´t known he had been holding.

"It takes practice. Try tapping it, and seal the light out with your hand as you hold it."

Jack obeyed, but with no result. Sandy was the next to eagerly try, but also to no avail.

"Like I said, it takes practice," repeated Bunnymund with a raised eyebrow and amusement written in his eyes. Sandy gave up with a frown and passed the stone to North, who was now leaning close to the others. Bunny glanced at the clock: _2:46_.

Jack sent Sandy a mischievous look before turning back to his friend.

"You said you would answer all of my questions, right?" he asked casually.

Bunnymund now had a slight smirk on his furry face as he watched North tap the rock desperately. He nodded his head and hummed to the affirmative, raising his mug to take a drink.

A small smile pulled against Jack´s lips.

"Promise?" asked the teen in a joking tone.

Bunny nodded again, still not paying complete attention as he observed the Russian and began swallowing his tea. Sandy looked at his young friend with confused anticipation, then sudden understanding.

"Ok then. . . who´s Primula?"

Bunny choked, North nearly dropped the rock in surprise and Sandy was debating whether or not this was a good idea as Jack held back a chortle.

Now coughing violently, Bunny stood up and walked a few steps away, leaning forward and covering his mouth with one hand as the other pushed the mug toward the yeti holding the refreshment tray. The elves rushed to him, pulling their cargo along. North now held the rock securely with one hand as he looked from Jack and Sandy to Bunny. The three guardians exchanged glances, two unsure and one triumphant.

It took a while for Bunnymund to recover from his coughing fit. He had kept his back to the others as he gripped his own chest and tried to calm his breathing. His ears were turned back, laying against his neck.

The anticipation built steadily for all three of them as the seconds ticked on.

Bunny finally turned his head, clearing his throat repeatedly and patting his chest just below his neck. "Excuse me," is all he sputtered before pacing away in the direction of the nearest restroom. The elves were right on his heels, tearing frantically after him with their two-dozen bandages.

"I wonder what he will say," mused North to himself as the Pooka disappeared.

A satisfied grin stayed on Jack´s face as they waited for the doctor to return.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**You reviewers are the best!**_

_**Guest**!: Thanks for your review! Your answer to why Bunny treats Jack differently was very helpful to me. But really, your input always is! Also, your story of getting that cap put on your teeth was TERRIFYING! Oh my, I would have cried! I have a story like that, but not nearly as good. When I got my braces off, my orthodontist let one of his college interns make the new mold of my teeth. Well, he put in way too much of that expanding paste and stuck it in my mouth, then promptly left for 15 minutes. What he didn´t know, was that the extra goo stuff had slid down my throat and was making a mold of my uvula, gagging me and making me feel like I was suffocating for fifteen minutes. When the guy finally came back and took it out, he was so impressed at the imprint and had the nerve to show it to me with an excited expression. He left right after seeing my own face wish him a painful death, and the orthodontist (the real one) came back to finish the appointment. Now, it wasn´t painful, (like yours) and he was just a college kid (not some middle-aged guy who should've known better), so I can forgive him. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and I look forward to hearing from you!_

_**Go Outside:** Hello! Thanks for your review! Bunny is all business, and it´s one of my favorite things about him. You mentioned North and Bunny disagreeing on medical treatments, and I´m very glad that you did. I haven't thought about North´s expertise Very much, but in the chapter On Five, 1, 2, 3, they do disagree about the stitches. Bunny mentions stitches and North says that he should just use superglue (which works!). I think I might go into that further later, so thanks for mentioning it. Also, I laughed at your comment of how Sandy just knocks people out to get his way. Hey thanks for your review, and I hope to hear from you again for this chapter!_

_**What do you think?**_

_1\. What questions did you anticipate Jack asking?_

_2\. How do you think Sandy has been feeling during the last two chapters?_

_3\. What do you think will happen next? What will Bunny say? Any fun theories you'd like to share (about this chapter or the story in general)?_

_4\. Do you think Jack is right to ask who Primula is?_

_5\. Do you have any stories from your life about chocking on food?_


	16. Trying To Say

Chapter 16

**Trying to Say**

Bunny walked back in exactly as the clock began chiming the hour. The three guardians watched him carefully, North still playing with the rock, Jack fiddling with his staff, and Sandy strumming his fingers.

"Is Tooth not here yet?" asked Bunny calmly as he looked around. "Strange, it´s not like her to be late. Maybe she´s forgotten-I´ll go get her," he said quickly, not quite making eye contact with anyone as he nicked his satchel and started thumping the ground with a large foot. Just then, Tooth fluttered in, chattering to the twenty or so fairies that accompanied her. Sandy noticed Bunny´s ears droop for the smallest second before he walked up to greet her.

"Ah, Tooth, we were starting to worry. Can I get you something to drink?"

Tooth paused her ordering to raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, sorry Bunny! I didn´t realize I was late; I must´ve gotten distracted. But no thanks, I just ate." She continued her babbling as she floated past him and up to the other three.

Bunny followed slowly, almost haltingly. When he reached his chair, he stood behind it, his hands clasped at his back and his gaze on the ground. His eyes soon crept to the clock, and he started to speak.

"North, it´s time. I´d like to give my report first; I´m still in the process of getting things back to normal in the Warren, but there seems to be-"

"Hiya Tooth," cut in Jack. "Bunny promised to tell me about his girlfriend named Primula."

Tooth stopped her prattle and looked at Bunny, who was now staring intently down at the armchair he was standing behind, his lips pursed slightly.

"Aw! That's such a pretty name! What kind of spirit is she?" asked Tooth with interest. Sandy´s worry was morphing rapidly into curiosity and North was still as engaged as before.

Bunny looked directly at Tooth and smiled. "Never mind that, it doesn´t matter. Now, I know we´re all busy, so I´ll make this short. As I was saying, I´m beginning to think that there was more—"

This time North interrupted him. "-We have time, my friend, no need to be nervous!" he chuckled. "You did promise Jack that you would answer all of his questions, and now we are all very interested. The spotlight is all yours! When you finish, we will start giving the reports."

Bunny looked back and forth slowly, his gaze not quite reaching their faces.

"So..?" pressed Tooth.

Bunny said nothing.

Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Is Primula actually a man's name, and you´re gay?" he asked.

Bunny´s head jerked back as his brows furrowed.

"No, absolutely not!" he asserted as he shot Jack a stern look.

Jack laughed freely, breaking the tension.

"Well then, spit it out Lover-bun!"

Bunny stammered some more before looking away and clearing his throat.

"She-she´s no one you would ever cross paths with, so there´s no need to worry about it," he said carefully. His facial expression relaxed, becoming neutral.

Except for his eyes. They looked very intense.

Sandy was surprised when North pushed further. The Russian was usually quite easily distracted (second to Tooth, of course), unless his belly was involved. A glance toward his bearded friend solved that mystery, as North had his hand on said belly, rubbing it like a gypsy caresses a crystal ball as he spoke.

"That is not whole answer, my friend," foretold the Russian.

Bunny´s stare shot to North´s deep blue eyes as he took a breath. "It´s none of your business, and it has nothing to do with this meeting," he said evenly. His left ear fluttered like a candle´s flame when a door opens. "Now, I think we should get on with what we´re actually wasting our time here for," he spat.

Tooth fluttered closer to him, ignoring the jab. "Bunny, you don´t have to talk about it if you don´t want to, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that we would love to know a little more about you!"

"And you promised!" said Jack.

Bunny smiled stiffly at Tooth (it looked painful), but then his eyes went back to roaming over the space in front of him; giving no indication that he would speak. His ear kept shivering.

Jack decided to stir the metaphorical pot a little more.

"No need to be shy, Kangaroo. Even you need some lovin´!" he said with an easy grin.

Bunny´s only movements were his eyes shifting to stare at the young man.

"It doesn´t matter, Frost. Just drop it," he said evenly as his nose wrinkled on one side.

"I will once you tell me who she is. I´m betting she´s a _new_ girlfriend because all the spirits I know say you´re a long-time loner. But hey-" he turned conspiratorially to North "-they say the quiet ones are the real romantics!"

"You´ve had your fun, Jack. Now belt up," said Bunnymund as his nose began competing with his squirmy ear.

"But she is important to you, no? I can feel it in my belly," said North seriously.

Bunny´s breathing was more noticeable now, but the Russian was too busy prodding his stomach for more information to notice.

"W-was, b-but that is—isn´t—has nothing to do with the reports. . ." His stare went to the fireplace. "Anyway-"

"Oh, I see," said Tooth sympathetically. "She´s an ex-girlfriend. Well, it´s ok Bunny, you just have to make sure the next girl you have your eye on knows how you really feel. In fact, you could even send Primula some flowers, like the beautiful ones that you planted for me that one time, remember? I´m sure she would love them and give you another chance!" she enthused as her fairies sighed dreamily.

Sandy furrowed his eyebrows and looked quickly between Bunny and Tooth. Images of flowers, teeth, eggs, hearts and a question mark flashed above him.

Meanwhile, Bunny scoffed and shook his head. His nose turned a darker shade of pink.

"Th-those were-No! No, there was no break-up!"

"Is good! You are still together! I can tell you have deep feelings for her. You must bring her here so we can meet your friend!

"Or just give us a few details and we´ll let it go, Twitchy" offered Jack.

Sandy now had a suspicious expression on his face as he looked again between Bunny and Tooth, but he simply waved to the others and made an image of Cupid shooting an arrow at Bunny, and then a pulsing heart.

North laughed at this, "Yes, my friend, Cupid is very serious about his job!" he enthused, and then he turned to Bunny again. "Is she blonde?"

"Nah," intervened Jack. "She´s got to be a carrot-top!"

"It´s-I-I don´t-no! No, let´s just move on—there-there are other things we should be talking about," stuttered Bunny, slightly louder than before. He was blinking rapidly now as he looked away from them and to the side. He changed position so that his arms were now folded in front of his chest.

"Two details, that is it!" cooed North, holding his hands out as if negotiating.

"Please, Bunny? I´m sure you´ll feel better after talking about it!" soothed Tooth.

"_Heart, fireworks!" _

"You promised," sang Jack again.

"She was my wife, and she´s dead! Happy?!"

He turned and stared daggers at all of them as he breathed heavily through his flaring nostrils. His claws were now showing as his hands choked his upper arms savagely. His ear was now perfectly still.

Sandy thought that he could hear his friend growl but was too surprised to focus on that.

He and the others were frozen in silence just long enough for tears to form in two shiny pink eyes. Then they were all overcome with a balanced blend of shame, regret, confusion and curiosity.

"Bunny, I´m so sorry-I shouldn´t have pushed like I did," said Jack earnestly. Sandy nodded along and showed a broken heart above his head.

North just stared at his friend with wide eyes and a furrowed brow, opening and closing his mouth like a fish a few times.

"It doesn´t matter, damn it! Just leave it alone!" cursed Bunny with a growl. His head snapped away and his hands flexed harder, driving his claws further into his coated arms, resulting in various gentle ripping sounds.

Tooth wiped her eyes and floated over to Bunny, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

He jerked away with an airy snarl, making her gasp and retreat with her hands covering her mouth.

He took a few deep breaths in the thick silence before speaking again.

"As I was trying to say, Pitch did a number on the Warren; more than I originally realized. I´ll be busy with repairs and re-planting for the next months, probably years."

The others were still statues. Only the furry ear, the fire, and a few drops of saltwater moved as the rabbit continued.

"If there´s an emergency, send out the lights," he enunciated with a hiss.

The aura he expelled thickened.

"Otherwise, leave me damn well alone."

Then he slammed his foot on the ground and disappeared. . .

But not before muttering something under his breath. Jack Frost was the only one present enough to hear the exhaled scorn just before the tunnel closed.

"Why do I even bother?"

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**_Leave a review!_**

_**Guest!:** I love reading your replies. I have to disagree with you about the dentists. Though the foam was extremely uncomfortable, it wasn´t painful, and the college kid didn´t make me suffer on purpose; he was just an idiot. I would rather have that than have an enormous man practically ripping my teeth out in the name of dentistry several times- and one who should´ve known better! I´m sorry friend, but I think your story wins. Also, crackers?! Why?! I´m sorry that happened to you, but I'm glad that you didn´t take the crackers. Has that experience put you off of eating those caramels? I love those things, but if I´d nearly died from one as a child, I don´t think I would enjoy eating them as an adult. Anyway, I´m dying to know what you think of this chapter and where things will go. Things progressed quickly since the last, and I hope that it didn´t disappoint. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this story!_

_**Go Outside:** Hello again! I think you´re right, North AND Jack means big trouble for Bunnymund. Hopefully this chapter shows that well enough. Anyway, I hope you leave a reply on this chapter with your thoughts. Where do you think the story will go from here?_

_**Shellycat:** You called it back in More Than Bare Minimum. Well done! What do you think about this chapter?_

**_What do you think?_**

_Be sure to leave a review! _

_1\. Why do you think Bunnymund didn´t just leave? How could he have handled this situation better? What would you have done if you were him?_

_2\. Do you think the other guardians were right to press him the way they did? If you had been there, what would you have done?_

_3\. How do you think this event will effect the group dynamic?_

_4\. What feelings passed through you as you read this chapter?_

_5\. Have you ever been cornered like this, or cornered someone else? How did it end?_

_6\. Any advice for how I could have made this chapter (or previous chapters) better?_


	17. Marigold Tombstone

Chapter 17

**Marigold Tombstone**

"_Otherwise, leave me damn well alone."_

_Then Bunny slammed his foot on the ground and disappeared. . . _

_But not before muttering something under his breath. Jack Frost was the only one present enough to hear the exhaled scorn just before the tunnel closed. _

"_Why do I even bother?" _

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

"I´m really sorry guys. . . That was all my fault," said Jack softly. The suffocating awkwardness dissipated ever so slightly.

"No, is alright. We all pressed him," said North as he rubbed his belly again, brow furrowed in thought.

". . . We all wanted to know. . ." he finished.

"So, what happened before I came?" asked Tooth softly. Jack filled her in as Sandy floated over to where Bunny had disappeared. There was only an orange marigold sprouting from the wooden floor. A cheerful reminder of a painful mistake.

The vibrant petals pushed the Sandman´s mind back even further into his memories with flashes of a worn blanket and a black-covered door.

"We should go talk to him and apologize," said Jack with a heavy voice once he finished his summary. North shook his head and patted his young friend on the shoulder.

"No, Jack. He wants to be alone. He will come back when he is ready. . ."

". . . Okay. . ." sighed Jack as the damper in the room settled further.

They all marinated in the stillness as the clock gave them all a long tick-tock scolding.

Finally, North gave a small smile and took a deep breath.

"Well, there is nothing to do about it now. Let´s go to kitchen for some snacks and continue with meeting there, yes? Change in scenery is needed, I think."

The others nodded solemnly and filed out, their eyes either avoiding the marigold tombstone, or staring emptily at it as they walked by.

North was the last to leave. He gently placed the black stone on the fireplace mantle, keeping it in the center so that it could be easily found if his friend decided to slip in quietly to recover it.

His pained gaze lingered on it, then his brows knit together and he let out a low sigh. As he turned to go, one eyebrow raised as the marigold stared at him, making him reconsider his decision.

Reaching back, he took the stone again. He looked around the empty room and slipped it into one of his pockets, buttoning the closure just to be safe. Then he nodded to himself and began his three-legged trek to the kitchens, his brain turning over a plan of action for when the owner of his newest nicked trinket came to retrieve it.

The walk helped him to clear his mind as he passed through the familiar setting of flying toys, grumbling yetis and the elves, who were back to their usual shenanigans with electricity and decorations.

For now, he was still in charge of hosting the meeting.

He could run Bunny´s confession through his memory again later.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. Seventeen hours later . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .

Tooth was in her circular command station, as usual.

Her fairies were zooming around with teeth and boxes. As usual.

But their movements and voices had a dampened, blue quality to them that was not, in fact, usual.

Come to think of it, Sandy´s mood matched theirs perfectly, as he assumed North´s and Jack´s did as well.

How Bunnymund was feeling was anyone´s guess.

Sandy let out a sigh at the thought and made himself smile before floating over to catch Tooth´s attention. It wasn´t until he was right next to her that the poor woman noticed him.

"Oh! Sandy," she said with a hand to her chest, "You surprised me, are you ok?" she asked with sad eyes.

He kept his smile firm, but couldn´t bring himself to nod.

Tooth looked down.

"Yes, I think we´re all worried about him," she said with a sigh. She made to say more but her words hitched in her throat as her eyes started to blink.

Sandy rushed to give her a hug before she could start crying. He patted her head and made silent shushing sounds as they embraced.

Luckily, it seemed to work, because her lips curved up slightly and her fairies started moving a little faster as they buzzed to and fro with their precious cargo.

The hug lasted long enough for Sandy to realize that he wasn´t accustomed to embracing Tooth. The thought made him frown a little, and he made a mental note to visit her more often in order to make a new habit.

Tooth let out a content sigh as they separated, sharing a sad smile. She asked one of her fairies to take over for a bit before turning all her attention to her small friend.

"I´m sorry, was there something you wanted to talk about?" she asked, her posture straightening.

Sandy paused as a crowd of flashing signs whirled over his head. His eyes watched her carefully before his sand settled and he sent her a comforting smile.

"Flowers, tooth, ?" he sanded.

"What do you mean flowers?" she asked openly.

Sandy bit the inside of his cheek for a second before answering.

"Egg, flowers, tooth, ?"

Tooth frowned.

"You mean Bunny´s flowers?"

Sandy nodded and pointed at her.

"Oh!" she said, brightening up. "The ones he planted for me? Come here, I´ll show you!"

Sandy´s eyebrows raised and he nodded with real enthusiasm. Soon Tooth was leading him by the hand to the ground level of her home.

As they went, he had another revelation about his friendship with Toothiana. Though he had known North longer, and he spent more down-time with him, Sandy felt closer to Tooth. His brows furrowed a bit at the thought, but he realized that it was because of how similar their jobs were.

North and Bunnymund were great. But, Tooth alone could appreciate how draining it could be to work 365 nights a year.

He raised his brows as another string of thoughts morphed above him. Despite Bunnymund´s aversion to the subject, Sandy was glad that they would have more meetings soon. Friends don´t make themselves, right?

His thoughts were put on hold as he and Tooth neared the ground.

"Here they are," she said proudly, gesturing to an intricate mound of flora.

"He planted them for me right here himself, and somehow they´ve never needed weeding or re-planting, just water," she said, smiling softly.

The patch was indeed beautiful. White carnations, bluebells, yellow tulips and purple iris´ swirled together in a graceful pattern of life. The smell was fresh and invigorating, and the sound of the bees that hummed lazily over the blooms was soothing and melodic.

Sandy felt some of his distress evaporate at the beautiful sight before him.

"Aren´t they lovely?" she asked contently. "The tulips are my favorites. He said that yellow tulips represent sunny smiles, and the white flowers make me think of sparkling teeth!"

She knelt and picked one of the bluebells. Then she handed it carefully to Sandy, who loved it immediately.

He admired the vibrant purple-blue color and let out a sigh. Despite the heart clenching events from earlier, this spot brought back good memories of his stubborn, furry friend.

"Calendar, flowers, ?" he asked.

"Oh, a year or two after I became a guardian. It was soon after the first fight that we had with Pitch. Bunny came and helped us, remember?"

Sandy nodded and lowered himself onto the ground so they could be side by side.

"Well, after my wing got injured, North asked Bunny to help me." She chuckled a little. "I didn´t want him to. He was so strict and grouchy, remember?"

Sandy nodded with raised eyebrows.

Tooth continued.

"At least, that´s what I thought at the time. It wasn´t until a few weeks had passed and my wing was nearly healed that he actually seemed to relax enough for us to talk a little for the first time. . ."

She gave a sad smile to Sandy, which he returned.

"I realized that he was just very direct, and he thought niceties were a waste of time. He wasn´t trying to be rude, and he actually did care about how I was."

Her smile became fond.

"He asked me how I was adjusting to becoming a guardian."

She chuckled and glanced knowingly at Sandy, who looked curious.

"I thought it was strange for him to ask, since he wanted absolutely nothing to do with us, remember?"

Sandy let out a smug grin, making a scoreboard above his head.

"G:1, Egg:0"

Tooth tried to keep from laughing but failed as she smacked him lightly on the shoulder and covered her mouth.

"You two were so mean to him!" she scolded through a smile.

Sandy shrugged cockily.

"Egg, G, checkmark, fireworks."

Tooth shook her head, but couldn´t get rid of her grin.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Well friends, I´m sorry that this one isn´t as polished. My eyes are starting to give me trouble, and staring at a computer for school and this story isn´t doing me any favors. With that said, I don´t know if I´ll be able to publish a chapter next week, but I´ll do my best. _

**To these wonderful people:**

_**Guest:**__ Thank you so much for your reviews! I´m sorry to hear about your childhood bully, Angel. What a terrible name for a bully! But I´m proud of you for getting yourself out of that situation. I´m sure it was frightening. I do have a question for you (more than just the usual ones). Would you rather read one chapter per week (average word count being just short of 2,000) consistently, or would you rather have a hiatus of a few months and then 2 chapter updates per week with the same average word count? This isn´t relevant now, I´m just planning for the future, and since you´ve been such a consistent help I want to take your opinion into account. Thank you Friend!_

_**Shellycat:**__ Hello, and thanks for leaving a review! Interesting theory about Pitch. . . We shall see. . . And I think you´re right. The others would have done better if they´d just asked him if he was alright, and then dropped it. _

**What do you think?**

_1\. Any thoughts about Sandy´s motivation for going to visit Tooth? What do you think about the flowers? _

_2\. So far, we´ve seen how 3 of the 5 guardians are reacting to what happened. What differences do you see between North, Sandy and Tooth? Why do you think they´re responding this way? How would you be feeling if you were one of them?_

_3\. What do you think that North is planning/considering?_

_4\. Have you ever gotten into an argument or a conflict like this, and how did you fix it? _

_5\. Any other thoughts you would like to share (again, sorry for the lack of organization in this post. My eyes feel very scrambled today)._

**_Have a great week, and hopefully I´ll see you here in 8 days. If not, I´ll be back in 2 weeks! _**


	18. The Complete Opposite

Chapter 18

**The Complete Opposite**

_"G:1, Egg:0," said Sandy._

_Tooth tried to keep from laughing, but failed as she smacked him lightly on the shoulder and covered her mouth._

_"You two were so mean to him!" she scolded through a smile._

_Sandy shrugged smugly._

_"Egg, G, checkmark, fireworks."_

_Tooth shook her head, but couldn´t get rid of her grin._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Their eyes went back to the flower patch. They both stared at it for a moment, welcoming the laughter back into their bodies after so many somber hours.

Tooth took a deep breath and picked one of the puffy white carnations for herself, holding it carefully. She settled back onto the ground and fluffed the petals a few times before breaking the peaceful silence.

"Don´t tell North, but it was hard for me to get used to being the only girl. I know he tried to make me feel included by inviting me to go drinking with both of you. . ."

Sandy chuckled and Tooth blushed another smile.

"But I think I just needed some time," she finished, letting her own laugh join Sandy´s silent one.

The breeze picked up, swaying the bright colors back and forth in a gentle waltz. The bees quieted slightly, and the heaviness blew gently away from the two sitting figures.

"You know, they´re complete opposites, North and Bunny. . ." said Tooth with a frown.

Sandy nodded. He had noticed this fact many, many times over the course of many, many years.

"I remember liking North immediately," she chuckled. "I could barely understand his accent at first, but even with that, he was easy to get along with."

A fond smile warmed Sandy´s face as a candy cane formed above him.

Tooth furrowed her brows.

"Now that I think of it, I should´ve been comparing Bunny to you, not to North."

Sandy looked surprised, and he made a question mark above his head.

Tooth´s cheeks reddened.

"I didn´t know at the time, but you two are both from different planets, and you are closer in age to him than North is, right?" she asked.

Sandy grinned and gave a 'so-so' gesture.

Tooth bit her lips as her cheeks darkened further. A giggle escaped her, and she cringed slightly before speaking.

"Well, at the time. . . I thought he was a human who had turned into a rabbit after becoming immortal," she confessed. "I figured that´s why he was so grumpy!"

Sandy let out a snort as his smile squished his eyes and her laugh rang throughout the space.

The wind picked up again, turning the flower waltz into a swaying ballet routine. If the bluebells had been real bells, they would´ve tingled and chimed with wiggling enthusiasm along with the two guardians that admired them.

A frown waited to appear on her face until the wind had settled and the flowers stood still again.

"And then I found out that he was the only one left of his species."

The mood dampened significantly as the echo of Primula's identity settled onto their shoulders, pushing their heads down by a few degrees.

". . . Do you feel out of place here sometimes?" she asked looking at Sandy.

His head tilted to the side as he blinked in thought.

It didn´t take him long to purse his lips and shake his head no.

Her frown deepened.

"I hope Bunny feels the same way you do. You look human, at least, as much as any of us do-" she said, smoothing down some of her feathers "-but he doesn´t look like he belongs here at all. . ."

Sandy frowned too.

"You know, now that I think of it. . . he´s the complete opposite of you and Jack too. . ." she admitted.

The stillness settled again, and they stared at the flowers long enough for a real hummingbird to come and begin his feast.

Sandy´s eyes followed it as it passed from flower to flower, until it lingered at a certain cloud-colored one.

His eye caught the chosen white bloom, and he took a second to admire it´s graceful petals and rose-like structure. Its name whispered itself through his mind, echoing a few times until he paid attention to it.

When he finally did, his train of thought exploded, and he did a double take.

Nope. It wasn´t his imagination.

He must´ve assumed that all of the white flowers were carnations at first, but now that he really looked at them, he realized his mistake. One of his eyebrows perked up as he remembered his purpose for being there in the first place.

Honey eyes wandered over to Tooth, and he did his best to keep the surprise from showing on his face as he decided what to say.

Tooth met his stare, but furrowed her brows a bit when she saw his conflicted expression.

"Sandy, what´s wrong?" she asked kindly.

He flashed a smile and took a deep breath.

"Flowers, ?"

Tooth glanced at the flower patch, and back to her friend.

"What about them?" she asked, confused.

Sandy pursed his lips for a moment and drummed his fingers before a lightbulb appeared over his head.

He got up and pointed to a yellow tulip, and then looked at her with a question mark.

Her head tilted to the other side.

"That´s a tulip," she said carefully.

Sandy nodded enthusiastically, and then he made the tulip shape over his head.

"Tulip, smile," he said, holding a hand out as if it contained information for her to look at.

She narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Yes, those are the ones that he said represent sunny smiles. Would you like one?" she asked politely.

Sandy smiled but shook his head. He quickly floated over to one of the overlooked white blooms and pointed at it, and then looked at her carefully with another question mark above him.

Tooth fluttered over, her eyes on the flower he was indicating to.

"I´m not sure what those ones are called, but if you want some I don´t mind if you take a few," she offered.

Sandy paused and watched her delicately. When she didn´t say anything more, he blinked and signed a word above his head.

"Meaning, ?" he asked.

Tooth frowned.

"He didn´t tell me what these ones mean. Why do you ask?" she probed gently.

Sandy wasn´t sure if he should be relieved or saddened, but he had been in a blue mood for long enough, so he simply shrugged and made the word "Beautiful" over his head.

Tooth bent down to pick a few of them.

"They are very beautiful, you´re right. But I like the carnations better. They´re so fluffy and now that Jack´s one of us, they make me think of snowballs," she said lightly.

She smiled at Sandy as she handed him a small white bouquet, which he delicately added to his single bluebell stalk.

They hovered over the flower patch for a minute more, before Tooth perked up and looked toward her office. Sandy followed her gaze.

"Well, it´s been nice talking to you Sandy, but my fairies are getting a little flustered," she said politely.

Sandy nodded and opened his arms for a hug, which she easily gave.

"I´ll talk to you soon, ok?" she said, patting his hand with her own just before she darted away.

He sent her a thumbs up, as she disappeared from view.

Once she was gone, the Sandman´s eyes returned to his bouquet.

The white gladiolas reflected the sunlight very nicely.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jack squeezed his staff. Those weird statues would look so cool if he covered them with snow. He could even make it the sticky kind and shape it on their heads to make them look like those funny smart men from a few centuries ago. What were those hairdos called? Flour wigs? Baking powder wigs? Something like that.

He let out a grunt and squeezed his staff harder. He wasn´t here to work! And besides, he´d surely get his head bitten off if he made it snow on this turf.

Shaking his head at himself, he flew down so that he was closer to the ground, looking for something Eastery.

Ha, that´s funny. It´s Easter Island, you can´t get more Eastery than that.

Lowering further, he was greeted by bright green grass sprouts, flowers, and general tropical plants.

No sign of Bunny.

He plopped down onto the ground, fanning some air into his sweatshirt as he glanced at the sun´s position. It was nearly at its highest; he had been here for a few hours already.

He felt his nose scrunch up. No wonder Bunny didn´t have any friends! He made it impossible to contact him, even if it was only to apologize—at least, without using a snowglobe. Apparently even Sandy could only get into the Warren with one of North´s gadgets.

Anti-social much?

Very much.

Jack reached a brook, freezing it without a second thou—OH NO! He glanced around, scrambling away from his crime and hiding his staff behind his back.

He held his breath, his eyes darting over the wild grasses.

All was silent.

He checked his surroundings once more.

Nothing.

A rock of guilt slammed into his stomach. Either Bunny hadn´t noticed, or he was too angry to care.

Standing still, the young man evaluated his options, fanning himself once again.

Just then, wind fluffed his hair up, cooling his face and pulling his mind away from his preoccupation.

North was probably right; Bunny would be fine. Jack kicked at a clump of dirt. He probably shouldn´t have come all the way out here anyway.

Glancing back, he saw his thin ice sheet begin to crack as the brook warmed.

He had apologized once already, hadn't he? Maybe that would have to be enough for now.

"Wind?"

A cold breeze hugged him.

"Let´s go somewhere cold!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

**To these magnificent people:**

_**Guest:**__ Hello my friend! Thank you for letting me know about your updating pace preferences; I´ve got plenty of material to post, so no worries there! It´s just staring at the words on a computer screen and doing the final editing that is making the posting process difficult for me. Hopefully with the end of the semester in sight, I won´t have to do so much studying, which should help my eyes and headaches. Anyway, I´m so glad that you are enjoying the story; I was very nervous about posting it, but your input makes it worth it, so thank you again. I was very sad to hear about the death of your father; I´m so sorry for your loss. I´ve yet to have a close relative of mine pass away, but it seems like a terrible trial to go through- and even more so in your case, since there was so much tension coming from Rachel that you also had to deal with. She sounds awful by the way, and I can see why you would be so angry with her. I´m glad that you stood up for yourself though. I honestly can´t see how that situation could have possibly become a win-win for anyone, especially since her actions assisted the cancer. I´m so sorry for your loss, my friend._

_**Chris**: Hi there, thanks for leaving a review! I agree, the Trying To Say chapter is very sad. However, there is a lot of fluff in this story to balance out the sadness. I hope you keep reading and enjoy the story!_

**What do you think?**

_1\. Out of the 4 guardians, who do you think knows Bunnymund the best, and why?_

_2\. Any guesses as to how Bunnymund became a guardian? This will come up later, but I´d love to hear your theories._

_3\. What assumption do you think Sandy has made/been making about Bunny, and do you think he´s correct?_

_4\. What is your opinion of Jack after the events in Trying To Say (2 chapters ago) and seeing how he feels about it now? If you could give him advice, what would it be?_

_5\. Who is your favorite guardian and why? Which one are you most similar to, and in what ways? _

**_Thank you for reading! I´d love to hear your feedback. Have a great week! _**


	19. Sunflower-Yellow Cravat

Chapter 19

**Sunflower Yellow Cravat**

You would think that a brightly feathered woman with wings and pink eyes would draw many stares from anyone who saw her. Especially if she was part of the most respected and elite team of spirits known as The Guardians of Childhood; or simply The Guardians to most.

Well, you would be right.

However, on this particular day, Toothiana noticed even more whispers and pointed fingers than usual as she zoomed through her social hotspot, and her absolute favorite shopping center.

The Pot of Gold.

There were shops selling anything you can possibly imagine and even more things that you can't. Restaurants and treat bars and exotic grocery stands were scattered everywhere as well, and the mixture of aromas always made her giddy.

She treated herself to a visit here at least every other month, but more often than that if her fairies were able to manage on their own. The establishments that she frequented knew her unique persona by sight, and by now they knew exactly what kind of products she fancied.

This is exactly why she was so concerned by the extra attention. After looking herself over in no less than three mirrors and checking her scent and her breath more times than she bothered to remember, she gave up her pleasure window-shopping and sped to her only necessary stop, refusing to make eye-contact with anyone. Finally reaching the top office reception room and being able to close the door behind her was a relief.

"Queen Toothiana! What brings you to the _Pot of Gold_ today?" asked one of Chaun Patricks´ assistants. Tooth smoothed her feathers and fluttered to the desk.

"Hello, Victoria. . . do I look alright?" whispered Tooth.

Victoria looked confused.

"Of course you do!"

Tooth´s cheeks pinkened and she took a deep breath.

"Well that´s a relief!"

Victoria patted her hand.

"You look lovely, just like you always do. Now, what can I help you with?"

"I´m here to ask Chaun for an extra order of metal box parts," said Tooth. "And just to chat for a bit if he has the time. Is he here by any chance?"

Victoria smiled and shook her head. "He is here, but he´s very busy helping Mr. Easter Bunnymund at the moment. I would be happy to help you, though!"

"Easter Bunnymund? That's strange, I didn´t know there was another spirit with that name," said Tooth. "Are they new?"

Victoria shook her head and smiled. "Oh, no! It´s _your _Mr. Bunnymund! The Easter Bunny, your guardian friend," she said.

Tooth's jaw dropped. "What? _Aster _Bunnymund?! What on earth is he doing here?" she exclaimed. The shocked tone of her voice drew the attention of the rest of the staff, and she laughed lightly in embarrassment until they all went back to their work.

Turning back to Victoria, she fluttered closer and lowered her voice.

"Bunny? The guardian? He´s talking to Chaun right now?" she whispered with wide pink eyes.

Victoria nodded, leaning closer.

"Yes! We were shocked too! You should´ve seen Mr. Patrick´s face, I´ve never seen him so surprised before. Of course, he cancelled all of this morning´s appointments and they´ve been in the office for the last hour! I´ve only ever heard of the Easter Bunny from you, Tammora, Time, and North before, but this is the first time any of us have ever seen him in person. You never told me how tall he is! I thought he was just-" she made a watermelon-sized space with her hands "—a normal rabbit! Or at least a smallish animal, like Tamm! I nearly had a heart attack when he came in, I thought he was a werewolf or something!" she said with a wide-eyed whisper.

Tooth´s wings slowed and she lowered herself to her feet, her surprise melting quickly to concern.

"I suppose his appearance can be a little surprising if you don't know him," she admitted hesitantly, "But he's certainly no one to be afraid of."

Victoria nodded as Tooth's expression softened and her feathers deflated slightly.

"Did he look alright? Was he angry or upset?" she asked.

Victoria looked thoughtful. "No, I don´t think so. But then, I´ve never talked to a giant rabbit before, so I don't know what to compare him to. Why do you ask? Is he unwell?"

Tooth shook her head slowly.

"No, but last week there was a bit of a. . ." she glanced at the door "a, um. . . oh never mind. I´m sure he´s fine," she lied with a smile.

Victoria glanced at her boss's office door and lowered her voice.

"I suppose he was very serious. He was polite, sure, but I couldn't get a smile out of him."

Tooth chuckled.

"That's Aster Bunnymund for you,"she said.

She smoothed her feathers again as she mulled the information over. Victoria, meanwhile, offered a handful of sunflower seeds that she had hidden in her desk drawer with a wink. The distraction was enough to bring Tooth´s mind out of the past.

"This is so strange, Vicky. He never leaves his warren unless it´s Easter, or he´s working on Guardian business with us. . ."

Victoria smiled.

"Yes, it is strange. Especially when you consider that Mr. Nicholas North was here for his regular visit too, just an hour or so before Mr. Bunnymund showed up."

Tooth giggled.

"Well that explains the strange looks," she said. "North, Bunny and me all here in one day? No wonder people were whispering!"

Victoria laughed back.

"Yes, it is good gossip," she said. "And as much as I love a juicy conversation, I'm sure that's not what you came to talk about." She glanced at the door, and back at her customer. "How about you tell me more about the order of metal boxes that you mentioned before?"

"Oh! Right, the boxes."

"Is there a rush?"

"Um, no, but I need them before next week."

Victoria smiled. "Rush, then. Would you like them delivered, as usual?"

Just then the large office door opened, and the Saint´s deep voice called out.

"Shirley, Victoria, I need you to check a few things with some of our vendors. Would you both come in here, please."

The door swung open further, revealing The Leprechaun in all his curly, red-haired glory. Victoria winked at Tooth before scampering in along with another assistant.

Tooth couldn´t help floating over, hoping to catch Chaun off-guard. Despite her regular visits to the Pot, her social calls with Chaun were fairly rare, especially from Halloween until the beginning of summer. As she got closer, she noticed the customer her ginger friend was trying to accommodate.

Sure enough, there was Bunny. He was wearing a bowler hat, vest, and a jacket, all in earthy tones along with a sunflower yellow cravat that was neatly pressed down with a bottle-green pin at the center. He sat in the chair opposite Chaun´s large desk and appeared to be pouring over a stack of papers with his green, egg-shaped glasses perched on his nose.

The Leprechaun looked up from his desk.

"Ah! Toothiana! What a pleasure to have you here, it´s been too long!" said the sturdy man. He stood up quickly and beckoned her in with a quick hand just as the assistants made their way out, clutching folders.

Bunny´s head jerked to look at her when her name was mentioned, but he remained silently seated as she floated in to greet her friend.

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**Thank you for the reviews!**

_**Guest:**__ I love reading your reviews. I also dislike fics that make Bunny the bad guy just because he doesn´t put up with crap. This whole story is really just my attempt to show the truth. Self-righteous? Maybe a little. Oh well. Justice for Bunnymund! Anyway. . . I love your story about how Bunny became a guardian! And let me tell you, I absolutely despise spoilers, so your summary was PERFECT! I´m even more excited to read the books now! I had already drafted my version of his "conversion" before I saw your summary, and I´m quite proud of some of the similarities. I can´t wait to see what you think about it when it´s posted. :D I´m very grateful for your input on this story, and I hope you have a great week! Also, good luck on your finals too if you haven´t taken them yet. Thank you for your responses! _

**What do you think?**

_1\. Any guesses as to why Bunny is at the Pot?_

_2\. The meeting happened a week earlier. If you were Bunny, would that be enough time for you to cool off? _

_3\. Tooth´s favorite hotspot is The Pot of Gold. What´s yours, and why? _


	20. Chaun Patrick

Chapter 20

**Chaun Patrick**

"_Ah! Toothiana! What a pleasure to have you here, it´s been too long!" said the sturdy man. He stood up quickly and beckoned her in just as the assistants made their way out, clutching new assignment folders. Bunny´s head jerked up to look at her when her name was mentioned, but he remained silently seated as she floated in to greet Chaun. _

"Hi Chaun, it´s so nice to see you! Busy day?" she asked as she shook his warm hand.

"Very busy, just the way we like it!" he said. He wasn´t terribly short; about her same height.

"You know; this is the first time I´ve had so many Guardians in my office in one day. What fun it´s been! What brings you in today, my dear? More boxes, perhaps?"

Tooth let out a sigh.

"Yes, a few million replacement boxes. Pitch Black damaged quite a few of them just recently; did you hear?"

Chaun furrowed his brow in concern. "I did indeed. Nickolas told me just hours ago. Are you recovering alright?" his green-clad suit rustled as he pulled another chair close to his desk and beckoned her to sit.

"No need to worry, my fairies and I are fine. It´s just a few boxes that need to be replaced," she said, sitting down.

"Yes, it seems the Boogeyman did quite the number on all of you this time" said Chaun seriously. He was now sitting in his chair and motioning to Tooth and someone next to her.

_Oh wait, Bunny´s here too!_

Tooth turned to look at her friend, chiding herself for not having greeted him. He was still reading a stack of papers in his hand, but he glanced up and nodded once at her when he noticed her stare. Then he went promptly back to his reading.

_I wonder if he´s still upset about what happened. . . _

"I must admit, I´m surprised he was able to do such damage so quickly. It´s unnerving, even for someone who wasn´t directly involved. He must have been planning this for several decades. Ruined boxes, Mr. Bunnymund´s lost holiday, North´s broken leg, it´s all quite unexpected!"

"Oh, well North actually broke his leg _after_ the battle, but he probably didn´t mention that part, did he?" laughed Tooth.

Chaun laughed loudly at this too. "No, he didn´t, sly dog! I´ll have to call him out for that next time we meet for drinks!"

Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both turned to the only other occupant, who looked back with two unimpressed eyebrows.

"I hate to interrupt, but I am on a schedule."

Tooth blushed, realizing her bad manners. "Oh, I´m so sorry Bunny! I should have waited until you were finished. Just pretend I´m not here!"

Mr. Patrick put his business face back on, turned his attention to his client and apologized.

"Pardon me, Mr. Bunnymund. Your partners, especially Tooth and I, do get along to chatting quite easily. Is there anything else you would like to alter?"

"Yes. I want the equipment delivered before the end of the month; the window of delivery must be between 5 and 7, not 5 and 10; and I want it clear that if any of the products do not meet my standards, I will refuse them and I expect a full refund of equal or greater value if that is the case."

Mr. Patrick tapped his pen on his desk, shrugged, and made a note on his own stack of papers. "I´m sure we can manage that. Anything else?"

"Now that my side is settled, I want you to know what your price is."

"Well, considering the unexpected nature of your order. . . the rush. . . and the delivery. . ." said Mr. Patrick as he scribbled some things down on a separate paper, "20 liters," he said, looking up. "In quarterly payments, of course."

The left corner of Bunny´s lips curved upwards slowly.

"Not a chance. You know how high the demand is; I could get everything I need elsewhere and not pay more than 13,000 gold pieces. I´ll give you 1,000 milliliters, max."

_That´s a lot of money, _thought Tooth. _And there´s a big difference between 1 and 20 liters. Liters of what?_

"Milliliters, Mr. Bunnymund?"

"That is correct."

"I´ll admit, 20 is my wishful thinking, but to go down to 1 single liter is quite a drop."

Bunnymund´s posture didn´t waver in the least, making Tooth doubt that even an eyelid batted from behind his glasses.

"It is a 95% drop, in fact," he said simply.

The Leprechaun steepled his fingers and narrowed his eyes.

"It is extremely valuable, I agree. . . But, doing business with me is less work and less time consuming for you. . . How about we meet halfway? 10 liters?"

"Halfway would be 9,500 milliliters, which is still more than the 1,000 I´m offering."

Mr. Patrick shifted in his seat, one hand now tapping at his lips.

"I know you´re a busy person, Mr. Bunnymund. I don´t want you to have to walk away from all the work we´ve done here. How about 8?"

Bunny raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly. The slight smile was still in place.

_I´ve never seen Chaun so jumpy before. He´s usually more than happy to walk away from a deal he doesn´t like, _thought Tooth. _And who knew Bunny was such a stickler for negotiation?_

"6?"

Bunny shook his head again.

"You yourself told me how many of your customers request it every month, so there is no risk to you when it comes to making a profit, regardless of how many milliliters we agree upon. Compared to most of your clients, I am not asking you for much, and you and I both know you can make well over 13,000 gold pieces from 1,000 milliliters if you play your cards right. Just last month I sold 250 for 5,000 gold pieces, and that was without a haggle."

He raised an eyebrow.

"In light of the numbers, my offer is extremely generous. 1,000 milliliters Mr. Patrick, take it or leave it; I don't have all day."

Tooth could now hear Chaun´s foot tapping the ground as he drummed his fingers on the desk and stroked his neat moustache with the other hand.

Meanwhile, Bunny stretched his neck casually and checked his pocket watch, raising an eyebrow at the small metal hands.

"Tell you what, leave it at 1,000, and write up a contract saying I´ll sell only to you for the next two years."

Mr. Patrick froze.

Bunnymund continued nonchalantly.

"You´ll have the monopoly, and you can charge whatever you want for it until the contract is finished."

"Done!"

Bunnymund smiled, just a bit.

"Done," he said, standing to shake hands with the leprechaun.

"I think this is just the beginning of a very profitable arrangement for both of us," said Chaun.

Bunny merely raised an eyebrow and changed the subject.

"In light of this deal, I certainly hope not to receive any more calls from the little birdies of how anxious you are to meet me," he said smoothly.

Chaun chuckled as his new vendor turned to gather his things. His cheeks were turning red, matching his hair.

"You uh, wouldn´t by chance be able to give me the first payment today, would you Sir?"

Bunny pushed his watch back into his pocket.

"I could get it to you within a few hours. Meanwhile, you can make the contract and we´ll sign it when I come back."

Mr. Patrick smiled and rubbed his hands together. "That would be perfect. I´ll have the document finished within the hour!"

Bunny nodded to Tooth and said her name politely as he passed her and walked to the exit.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Patrick," he said as he closed the large door behind him.

"And with you, Mr. Bunnymund," answered Chaun, but the door had already clicked shut.

Tooth's wings began humming as she stared at the door and raised from her seat.

The Leprechaun let out a long exhale and looked at her.

"Well, that was certainly a rainbow ride," he said humorlessly.

"Chaun, I´ll be right back," she said as she wrenched the door open and zoomed after her friend.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

_**Guest:**__ Well done, he was indeed there for business. Also, Hobby Lobby? I freaking love that place! What kinds of things do you like to draw? I´ve always wanted to be able to draw, but I haven´t put in enough practice (which is why I still haven´t finished the cover image that I had planned for this story). Hot Topic is pretty great, though I haven´t been in one in several years. Anyway, thanks for your reviews! It´s nice to know that someone is enjoying this story, so thank you for your reliable feedback. _

**What do you think?**

_1\. What do you think Tooth is going to say/do, and do you think it´s a good idea? _

_2\. Liters of what?_

_3\. What do you think is Bunny´s opinion of Chaun? And the reverse? _

_4\. Have you ever been in Tooth´s position before, where two of your friends from different areas of your life have just met each other? What happened?_


	21. It Clearly Still Matters

Chapter 21

**It Clearly Still Matters**

Tooth's wings began humming as she stared at the door and raised from her seat.

The Leprechaun let out a long exhale and looked at her.

"Well, that was certainly a rainbow ride," he said humorlessly.

"Chaun, I´ll be right back," she said as she wrenched the door open and zoomed after her friend.

It didn´t take too long for her to catch up to him, despite his quick 4-legged pace. He turned when she called his name.

"Bunny! . . . Hi." She said awkwardly after slowing down.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hello Tooth. . . is something wrong?" he asked as he stood and waited for her to continue.

"Hi, um, how are you?" she asked, landing and extending her arms for a hug. He paused, but complied, in his usual stiff, one armed way.

"I'm well. How are you?"

"I´m great! . . ."

". . . Well, that´s good. . ." he shifted his stance, his fingers busy with twisting one of the buttons on his jacket as they maintained awkward eye contact. Or, at least she thought he was looking at her eyes. His glasses were so opaque; she could never tell.

"So, um. . . you´ve never been here before. . ."

Bunny straightened his collar.

"No."

"Well, if your business with Chaun is finished, can I give you a tour?" she asked.

His ear pulled to the side as a crowd of customers began pointing at the two guardians and whispering amongst themselves. Bunnymund's posture somehow became even more rigid as he turned his back to them and gestured for Tooth to follow him around the corner. He glanced back before turning his attention to her again.

"No, I've done all I needed to do here; I don´t have idle time to stay," he said, looking away.

Two sprites passed by them, and his ear twitched when they stopped in their tracks to stare.

A fur-covered jaw clenched.

"Excuse me, can we help you?" Tooth asked them with a smile.

One of the sprites stammered and they both hurried away, leaving the guardians alone again.

Bunnymund adjusted his glasses, giving her a chance to catch his eyes glancing toward the hallway that led to the exit. Tooth cleared her throat.

"Listen, before you go, I want to apologize to you for what happened at the Pole," she said gently.

His nose twitched.

"Don´t worry about it," he said, giving her a slight smile.

It looked more like a wince.

She tried to break the tension by walking in the direction he clearly preferred and motioning for him to go with her. He reluctantly followed suit, matching her slow gait.

"I really am so sorry Bunny, I shouldn´t have been so rude."

He quickly cleared his throat and re-adjusted his glasses again.

"Please don´t, Tooth; there´s no need to talk about it."

Her pace sped up.

"I feel just awful, and so do the others. North thinks you´re going to avoid meetings because your wife died, and I just think that would make things worse because you need to heal and talk about your feelings, but you never do and Jack is upset because he thinks you don´t like him, and then you left so suddenly and he wanted to ask you to come back but we told him not to because you can be really grumpy sometimes, and after that we-"

"Tooth. . ."

"-all talked about how guilty we felt, and we never would have pushed you like that if we had known, but we didn´t know even though you could´ve told us anytime and we would´ve listened, but all four of us thought that she was a current girlfriend which makes sense because you´re a nice guy, but also doesn´t because you never talk to anyone and you´re pretty awkward socially because you always stay by yourself, even though I´ve never understood why but we-"

"Tooth!"

"- went to eat cookies to make us feel better right after and they didn´t listen to me when I told them not to eat the no-bakes because there´s far too much sugar in them despite North´s claim that the oats balance them out—honestly that´s complete poppycock—sugar is bad for your teeth just like traumatic secrets are, and you must be so heartbroken because you never told us you were married-actually you never even hinted at it which is really sad and we´re all curious even though we all feel terrible and I was wondering if you and Primula ever had kids, and if so-"

"TOOTHIANA!"

"Uh, yes?"

"Stop! Just forget it ever happened, do you understand? There´s no need to talk anymore, not with you or anyone else!"

The fairy finally pulled herself out of her own brain and noticed her surroundings for the first time. They were now just outside of the Pot, being stared at by a whispering group of Summer spirits and a few leprechauns on break. Bunny had led her far, far to the side and well out of earshot, probably in an attempt to hush her mindless babbling and earnest speed-flywalking. He didn´t look happy, if his wrinkled nose, frowning lips and twitching ear were anything to go by.

Tooth gasped.

"Oh no! I´m so sorry Bunny, I´m not trying to make it worse! Don´t be mad, I just want to make sure you know how terrible we feel!" she wailed as her eyes began to sting and her vision got blurry.

"Toothiana, this is completely unnecessary and unwanted! Stop apologizing, damnit! I have nothing more to say to any of you about-"

Bunny froze when he looked at her. Her face was red and her eyes were invisible behind the wall of saltwater that bubbled from them as she whimpered miserably.

Then he stammered and turned away.

"Err-y-yes. It´s alright, I-I think I, um . . . I´m-I'm getting the idea."

He rubbed a hand over his forehead and took a deep breath.

Tooth sniffed and wiped at her eyes. He glanced toward her a few times before sighing.

"It´s, um. . . it´s in the past, Tooth. It doesn´t matter anymore, so. . . s-so you should stop crying," he said softly.

"But i-i-i-it clearly still m-m-matters to you-u!" she sobbed heavily.

He turned away from her and stood awkwardly with pursed lips for a solid ten seconds.

Tooth was too busy trying to compose her bawling self to notice him sigh and rummage through his pockets.

She covered her leaking face with her hands and tried to stifle her heaving, shaky breaths.

Until she felt a careful nudge on her arm.

She peeked out to see a folded pale turquoise handkerchief being held out to her by a furry hand. Bunny still wasn´t facing her, but from this angle she could see his eyes staring at nothing from behind his glasses.

She blubbered a hiccupped 'thank you' before gratefully toweling off her face and blowing her nose with the soft cloth.

"Keep it," said Bunny gently when she made to give it back.

Good thing too, because her eyes started spilling tears immediately after he spoke.

"I guess what I mean to say is, it´s your business-" sniff sniff "-and we had no right to-" hiccup! "-corner you like that," she whimpered, looking away.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Sorry for the absence._

_**Guest:**__ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. These characters have so much to them, and I love how they can be both fierce and sweet according to the situation. Anyway, well done! You called almost everything. The idea that you had about boiling coins down to liquid form was very cool. I feel like that could be its own story, but anyway. We shall see the rest of that in the next chapter. I can´t wait to hear your thoughts, and BTW, I did check out your deviantart profile. I´ve never been on there before, so that was an experience for me. I am impressed that you´re able to draw animals, and you depict very adorable scenes. I can get away with humans (except for their hands) relatively well, but not animals. Anyway, thanks for letting me see some of your work, and for leaving your reviews on here! _

_**Witchypoo Jules**: I´m glad you liked Chaun. I´m trying to keep OC´s to a minimum in this story, but I am happy with how he turned out. I´m excited to see what you think of the other few. As for Aster, I think he is a very good business bunny too. Thank you for leaving your thoughts, I hope to hear from you again! _

**What do you think?**

_How do you feel about Toothiana (in general, not necessarily from just this chapter)_

_Do you think Tooth has helped things, or made them worse?_

_If you were Bunny, what would you do in this situation? Any observations you´d like to share?_


	22. Liters of What?

Chapter 22

**Liters of What?**

**(Remember to read Chapter 21 before you read this one)**

She blubbered a hiccupped 'thank you' before gratefully toweling off her face and blowing her nose with the soft cloth.

"Keep it," said Bunny gently when she made to give it back.

Good thing too, because her eyes started spilling tears immediately after he spoke.

"I guess what I mean to say is, it´s your business-" sniff sniff "-and we had no right to-" hiccup! "-to corner you like that," she whimpered, looking away.

The corner of his lips twitched.

"No harm done, Tooth. Just forget about it."

They both sighed in unison before he stiffly checked his watch again.

"Will you come to the next meeting? I think the guys want to apologize too," she ventured as she wiped under her eyes again.

He pushed his watch back into its pocket and rubbed the bridge of his nose, jostling his glasses slightly.

"Like I said before, I´m not going to be able to make it for a while. . ."

"Yes, you´re very. . . busy, as always," whispered Tooth. "But I know the others would feel a lot better if you came; Jack especially. . . But North also seemed to be in a funk after what happened. I think he was the most-" she looked at Bunny "-shocked of all of us."

He looked away and cleared his throat.

"You´re welcome to tell them to forget about it. As far as I´m concerned, it´s over and done with. There´s no need to mention it ever again."

Tooth smiled sadly.

"Then sure, I´ll tell them for you. Is there anything else?"

Bunny shook his head.

"No, I don´t think so. Thank you Tooth."

She pursed her lips as he reached for her hand.

"For what it´s worth, I think you should talk about it," she breathed quietly.

He froze and his hand went rigid in midair.

"It doesn't have to be now, but someday, you should talk about it."

She could see his jaw clenching again, (his poor teeth!) but did her best to pretend otherwise.

"I´m happy to listen, whenever you´re ready," she said as she placed her hand in his.

He lifted it mechanically to his lips, but didn´t grip her fingers the way he usually did. He also pulled his own hand away promptly afterwards.

"Goodbye, Tooth," he mumbled as he turned away and pounded the earth with his foot.

He paused just before jumping in the tunnel.

"Drink some water now, before you get dehydrated," he ordered quickly. And then he disappeared.

Tooth took a deep breath and rubbed her face with the handkerchief again before turning back to look at the Pot.

"Well, at least now he knows how we feel," she said to herself.

She took one more deep breath before getting ready to fly back to Chaun´s office.

_That´s a silver lining,_ she thought. _Chaun is always a chatterbox. He´ll help me to cheer up. _

And with that, she fluttered her wings, sparing one last sad glance at the purple hyacinth that was perched proudly in Bunny´s place.

. . . . .

"I can´t believe this! You´ve been nagging me to introduce you to him for _centuries_!"

"I know," sputtered Chaun, holding up his bagel in defense, "but I didn´t think he´s be so _strict_! Honestly, he´s not an easy one to warm up to."

Tooth giggled. "Is that why you wanted me in the office? You were tired of facing him by yourself?"

"Yes, that´s exactly why! And I´m not too proud to admit it," he said after swallowing a sip of lemonade.

"He´s a great guy, once you get to know him."

"I hope so. I´m going to be working with him regularly for the next while and I´d rather deal with a sentient being than a giant, soul-stealing rabbit."

Tooth whacked him hard in the shoulder, spreading crumbs from her own bagel everywhere.

"Don´t be such a gossip-goose! He´s the Easter Bunny. He´s allowed to have his quirks."

Chaun hummed in response as he chewed.

"Besides," she added, "You seemed pretty happy with how the negotiations turned out, so it couldn´t have been that bad."

Chaun shrugged as he swallowed.

"Well yes, I am pretty excited about that. Half a millennia of prodding has finally paid off, even if it´s not as much product as I´d hoped for."

"What exactly are you trading with him? I know it´s a whole liter, but of what?"

Patrick looked at her carefully before taking another sip of lemonade.

"Well, he is powerfully magical, and as far as I´ve been able to research, he´s one of a kind. . ."

". . .So?"

He adjusted his position a little.

". . . Well, so his blood has a lot of magical potential. I´ve even talked to a chap who was able to regrow his amputated arm back after drinking a potion with the stuff. It´s the single most requested item here at the Pot, and I´ve had to get it second hand in drops, until now."

Tooth was speechless for a good four seconds.

"You mean he´s going to give you _his blood_?"

Patrick smiled apologetically.

"Yes, I´m afraid. He´s not the only one, though. Many of the more unique spirits on earth trade their blood too. Nails, hair, saliva. . . feathers. . ." Patrick said the last part with a raised eyebrow and a glance in her direction.

Tooth rolled her eyes and let out a sigh of mock exasperation.

"_No_ Chaun, I am not going to sell any of my feathers to you-" a smile tugged at her lips as she sent her best glare in his direction— "but I´m flattered by your persistence."

He let out an exaggerated sigh and resisted a smile.

"It was worth a shot. Anyway, they´ve all got their uses, and the more unique ones-" he gestured to her colorful plumage "can fetch a very pretty price, especially if they´re as powerful as his blood is."

He took another sip of lemonade.

"I´m still quite giddy about all of it!" he said. "He´s single-handedly started the spring season for as long as I remember! Who knows what kinds of potions are going to pop up once his blood is on the general market, even if I can get only one liter from him for now!"

Tooth sipped her glass of water thoughtfully for a few seconds, her eyes slightly narrowed as they stared at nothing.

"What are you thinking, my dear? I´ve not upset you, have I?" asked Chaun carefully as he watched her.

The fairy shook her head and patted him on the shoulder. "No, I´m not upset. I´m just a little worried about him is all. I guess he is a doctor. . . He would know if his body couldn´t handle that, right?" she asked.

Chaun smiled and nodded his head. "Don´t worry, Toothiana. Many of my vendors give up to four liters in a year, sometimes more. My deal with him is for a very small amount compared to most others, unfortunately—and he´s not even including the plasma! I know he´s been selling it for a while, seeing as I´ve been able to get small vials of it here and there through the centuries. He´ll be fine my dear, I´m sure of it."

Tooth considered this, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You know, as I´m thinking about it more, it sounds kind of grotesque."

Chaun chuckled. "I can see why you would think that."

She shrugged and let out a small giggle.

"But then again_ I _pay children for their teeth, so who am I to judge?!"

They both laughed at that, dissipating any discomfort.

"Now, I know I´m a fool for asking. . . but would you like some dessert, my dear?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

**I´ll reply to any answers from the last chapter and this one in my next update. Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts from this!**

**What do you think?**

_What do you think about Chaun now? _

_How do you think this business deal is going to affect Bunny?_

_If you were Tooth, how would you react to the information? _

_Have you ever had to sell something dear to you? _


	23. A Letter As an Out

Guys, last week I posted two chapters together instead of just one. You may want to go check chapter 21!

Chapter 23

**A Letter As An Out**

The heavy kitchen door was flung open, revealing a large yeti with searching eyes. North peeked out from behind the toy catalogue he was looking at, and sent a wave at Gordon as he swallowed his bite of sandwich.

Gordon grumbled something in Yettish and gestured to someone just outside the doorway.

North checked that his chest pocket was buttoned shut, tossed his magazine to the side, and sighed.

"Let him in," he said with a heavy voice.

Gordon shuffled out of the room, but kept the door open long enough for the Charlie egg to enter. The metal minion watched North for just a moment with his round red eyes before waddling closer and handing him a piece of paper. North frowned as he took it, but he didn´t need to look at it to know exactly what it said.

"Still busy, is he?" he asked.

"Tik ere tokat, Tik etakate rr tokat."

North sighed.

"I do not understand your words little one, but I will take that to mean yes," he said as he ran a hand over his beard.

Charlie began examining the cast, especially the part that covered the sole of the foot, presumably for signs of abuse.

North considered the egg as his free hand tapped on the message. His eyes narrowed and his beard hand stopped when he decided to speak.

"This is second time you have delivered this message to me. Is he faking being busy and is just pouting and being mad?"

Charlie shook his head as he pinched North´s big toe and watched the nail.

"Tik ere tokat, Tik etakate rr tokat."

North raised an eyebrow.

"Would you tell me if he was lying?"

Charlie's movements slowed and his eyes blinked between off and red for a moment as they wandered to the note he had delivered. Then he turned and surveyed the two-person occupied room. Sure they were alone, his eyes turned to red again as he looked back at North.

"Ikotatouuk-ka," he said, nodding.

North´s eyebrow raised further.

"Has he forbidden you from talking to me?" he asked.

Charlie considered this, and then shook his head.

"Do you know who Primula is?"

Charlie´s eyes turned orange and dimmed until they were nearly off as he looked down, tilting his body with them. His legs bent, and his arms went slack. He emitted a low, depressed moan.

North´s blue eyes sharpened in concern, and he automatically reached out to comfort the robot with one of his large hands, patting him on the head very gently, the way he would a child.

"Shh-shh-shh. . . I am sorry little one, I did not mean to upset you, shh-shh-shh. . ." he cooed softly.

Charlie´s moans quieted a little, and he tilted his head slightly, his faded eyes blinking on and off slowly.

He stood still like that for a moment before his eyes brightened to a steady pink. He raised his own spindly hand to cover North´s large one; patting it in the same caring way, much to the man´s bewilderment.

Despite the curious reaction, the mood was still dampened as North's expression faded from concern to regret.

"Forgive me, little one. I know very little about her, but she must have been very wonderful to have such an effect on you. . . or on your master especially." He said quietly.

Charlie´s eyes flashed orange off and on a few times as he listened, but that was the only change to his comportment.

North managed to pull out a chair with his other hand and beckoned Charlie to sit in it, guiding him gently. Once Charlie was seated his mourning silenced and the lights went back to a steady, if somewhat dimmed, orange. North removed his hand, and Charlie sat still for a moment. His limbs seemed to relax as the seconds ticked by.

North watched his new little friend, deciding what to say.

"Can you tell me about her?" he asked softly.

Charlie moaned a little, and shook his body. The chair creaked as he twisted on it.

North sighed and gave a sad smile.

"I did not think so," he said. Charlie´s eyes raised to look at him again, and he ventured another question.

"Has your master always been so secretive?" he asked.

Charlie´s eyes wandered and to the side and flashed off and on as he appeared to consider this. It took him a while, as the outside of North´s milk glass began to drip condensation in the silence.

"Ikotatouuk-ka," he said, nodding.

It wasn´t a surprising answer, but a troubling one nonetheless.

"Can you tell me about him?" he asked.

Charlie began to shake his head, but couldn´t finish as his attention sprang to the doggy flap next to the heavy kitchen door being pushed open. Orange circles flashed yellow a few times before going back to the usual red.

North furrowed his brows as a single rainbow-dyed elf jingled in with a determined face.

"What is wrong? I am in private meeting, come for snack later!" ordered Santa as the rainbow elf pulled himself up onto a chair, and then onto the table.

Once he was safe on the high surface, he turned to North and shook his head, and then put his finger to his lips, shushing his boss with as much sass as a ten-inch being can possibly muster. Then he ignored North completely and walked up to Charlie who, sitting down, was about eye-level with him. He smiled and pointed to Charlie, and then to his own chest. Then he made bunny ears on his head and jumped up and down.

Charlie´s red circles lightened to a bright pink as they darted to North, and then glowed even more when they made eye-contact. Taken aback by the intensity of the robot´s gaze, North´s words of rebuke dissolved on his tongue as his belly twisted.

Charlie stared at him for a second longer before turning his attention back to Rainbowie.

He raised a spidery hand and patted the little bell-topped menace gently a few times, exactly as North had done to him mere minutes ago.

North´s belly grumbled.

"Nat iko," said Charlie to the elf, the pink becoming a little paler.

Rainbowie must have somehow understood, because he beamed an enormous smile in response, clutching his hands together and jumping up and down a few more times. His bell giggled as his emotions overcame him and he leaped at Charlie, spreading his arms across the egg´s face in what North could only assume was meant to be a hug.

Charlie pastel pink eyes brightened some more and he waited a few seconds before gently removing the elf from his face with two metal hands and settling him tenderly on the ground.

Rainbowie smiled and waved at him proudly, but then turned and pranced away with his toothpick limbs, reminding his boss of a baby horse.

A very strange baby horse.

North´s eyes were wide, but he had no explanation for what he had just seen.

Belly twisted again.

North doubted it was because of the hot-wing-macaroni and peanut butter on rye lunch plate that sat half-eaten next to his elbow.

The elf disappeared through the doggy door as Charlie turned back to look at the table again. Or, more specifically, the note he had brought, pink darkening to red.

North shook his head to himself, and then took a breath and leaned back in his chair. One of his hands was once again stroking his beard in thought as the other prodded his belly.

A nearby clock ticked for a few seconds before Charlie picked the note up and handed it to North again, looking at him expectantly.

North´s demeanor saddened, but he obliged the messenger and began reading the note.

_North, _

_I don´t have time to visit you in person so fill this out and send it back with Charlie. _

_ Have you done the exercises? If not, do them. _

_ Have you experienced pains or discomforts in your leg? If so, give me details._

_ Have you walked on it at all? If you have, you´d better hope I don´t notice the difference next time I see you. _

_ Any problems with the cast? If there are, give me details. _

_ Any medicine-related problems that I ought to know? Explain._

_Keep an eye out for Charlie next week as well. _

_-E.A.B. _

It was nearly identical to the one he had received a week after the Primula incident; except for the handwriting. Bunny's penmanship was long and slim, but this contained only deliberate letters and blocky spacing; just like the note that Charlie had given him in the Warren steam-room.

The fact that Bunnymund had used a letter as an out to avoid meeting in person not once, but _twice _in a row in as many weeks was very disconcerting to North. He let out yet another sigh and placed the paper on the table again, pulling at his moustache in thought.

"Your master can be very big pain in the toosh sometimes," he muttered to Charlie.

He shouldn´t have been surprised when the robot nodded his body, his eyes lowering to a dim orange. The sight brought a chuckle from the large man, and he couldn´t help patting Charlie on the head again as he let the laugh seep into his bones.

"Well, you probably know this better than the rest of us, no?" he chortled.

Charlie nodded again, but stayed quiet as he watched North´s amusement with a tilted head and blinking lights. North shook in mirth before settling down and eyeing his companion conspiratorially.

"You are worried about him too, yes?" he asked quietly.

Charlie nodded, orange intensifying.

"Ikotatouuk-ka. Tik etakate, rr Tik tokat."

North raised an eyebrow, despite not understanding a single syllable.

"Does he listen to you?" he asked.

Charlie shook his head.

"Ikotatouukrer. Tikrer akuta Kartee."

North frowned.

"I want to talk to him, but he refuses to come. I do not know if he is really busy, or if he is avoiding us." He tilted his head to the side and shook it slowly.

"Or maybe he is in mourning. I do not know-how can I if he never talks to me?"

He looked to Charlie for an answer but received only an orange stare in return.

"Have you any ideas?" he asked with a tired huff.

Charlie shook his head.

North glared at the message on the table.

"Is there any way you know of for me to get him here without breaking another limb?" he asked dryly.

Charlie regarded him silently for a few seconds as his lights methodically blinked off and on before he turned to look at the same piece of paper. The orange darkened to a steady red as he reached out for it again, and held it up to North, who sighed grimly before raising a hand to take it for the third time.

But Charlie didn´t release his grip on it.

The resistance shook North out of his thoughts and he looked at Charlie with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Is something wrong, Charlie Egg?" he asked gently.

Charlie met his eyes, and then looked down to the paper they were both holding. North followed his gaze. Charlie let go of the paper a formed his strange hand into a pointing finger and moved it next to a certain sentence on the page.

North raised a brow as he re-read the words.

Realization dawned on him along with a smile.

"I see," he said slowly. "Is much better than broken bone and will still take long for him to fix. . . Do you think he will suspect?"

Charlie shook his head as his eyes brightened to a pinky-red.

North´s smile widened, and he let out another chuckle.

"You know, you are very smart for robot," he said lightly.

Charlie tilted his body but said nothing, choosing instead to watch his fellow conspirator quietly.

North began laughing smugly as he came up with a plan.

"We will have to be very careful, since we do not want real damage, no?" he said to himself. Charlie´s circles lightened into a steady pink, but he stayed quiet.

North spent another minute drumming his fingers and humming thoughtfully. When he finally made up his mind, he reached for a pen and filled out his Doctor´s note.

Charlie must have been able to read the writing, because he stood up from the chair and wiggled back and forth in anticipation. Once his host was finally finished, he rolled the note up and placed it into one of Charlie´s waiting hands with a smile.

"Here you are, my friend. By the time he reads it, it will be true," he said with a wink.

Charlie was still bouncing back and forth as he pointed at North.

"Ikotatouuk ooko auka a Tik?" he said.

"He is stubborn, but I will do my best to talk to him, yes?"

Charlie nodded and waddled away with happy pink eyes and a bounce in his step.

North watched him go with what can only be described as a knowingly sly grin.

Once Charlie was gone, his blue orbs wandered around the kitchen. It only took one gulp of milk inspiration for him to look back at where the egg had disappeared. He raised a brow, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile widened as he speculated to himself.

"That door is very heavy. . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

_**Guest:**__ Hello! Your comments are so wonderful. I´m excited to see what you think about this chapter! On a different note, I´m very sorry that you´ve had to re-home your horses. Family deaths are hard enough without that added pressure, but I'm glad that you´re at peace with your decision. My experience with horses is limited, but I´ve always loved them, so I can´t imagine your choice as being easy in any way. I hope things have gotten better for you since then. _

**What do you think?**

_1\. What do you think North plans to do? _

_2\. What are your thoughts on Charlie´s behavior? _

_3\. North clearly is determined to talk to Bunnymund. Do you think he´s right to do this even though only 2 weeks have passed since the meeting? What would you do or what advice would you give him, if any? _

_4\. Any other thoughts or suspicions that you´d like to share? _

_5\. Is there a certain kind of scene that you´re hoping to see in this story? _

_6\. Lots of questions this week, sorry. Have you ever been sneaky like North is being in order to solve a problem with a friend? _

_Have a great week everyone! _


	24. Except For That Rabbit

Chapter 24

**Except For That Rabbit**

Jack tried to wipe away the smile that was sticking to his face as he settled himself onto a mound of grass. Now that he knew his purpose in immortality, he felt perfectly at home with all of Mother Nature´s season spirits for the first time in 3 centuries.

But that wasn´t the only change!

He straightened up and grinned as another spirit, a summer one this time, glanced at him and nodded his head respectfully. Jack returned the gesture and tried to act casual, leaning back against the tree to his left for emphasis.

For one so young (comparatively), fame was a lot to adjust to. That´s not to say that he didn´t graciously soak up the attention; but he had a seed of new empathy for Bunnymund´s chosen solitude. Heck, even the other three seemed happy to keep to themselves most days, and they were quite the social penguins once you got to know them.

He had realized a week earlier why the guardians hadn´t sought him out for so long, despite his efforts to buddy-up with Bunny a few decades ago. Of course, he'd only done that after hearing that the moon had made him immortal too. Looking around now, he wagered it would only be a matter of time before he would also prefer to avoid most public gatherings.

He smirked.

But not yet! The awed stares and the hushed gossip were better than hot chocolate popsicles to him.

In fact, he probably wouldn´t consider avoiding the attention at all for another five decades at least.

Nah, not five. Probably more like fifteen or sixteen.

There were a few more whispers and shy waves from two spirits settling down to his left, and he did his best to nod back and look bored.

Now that they were fifteen minutes into the meeting, it wasn´t as hard as he thought.

This was, after all, just another seasonal gathering, despite the extra attention.

A two-hour one, at that.

Luckily, he had a handful of sweets in his pocket to keep him awake, curtesy of Phil.

He smirked again.

Not that Phil even knew how generous he was. The pile of snow that Jack had left in the candy jar would surely make him aware of it though!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_Simultaneously, at the North Pole_

North hobbled his way to the medical supply closet, taking extra care to go slowly. He couldn´t help checking over his shoulder periodically to see if Doctor Dictator had arrived yet. If Bunny was really as busy as he'd claimed then there was no reason to rush, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

A smile crept from his lips as he thought back to his interaction with Charlie only five minutes ago.

Smart little robot. Who would have known?

An image of Charlie´s eyes on him after the Rainbowie elf had arrived flashed in his head as he finally reached his destination.

North didn´t know why, but his belly had been disturbed ever since that moment. He'd thought about it on a loop as he'd been hobbling down the hallways, but he'd yet to decipher it.

Oh well. Belly would tell him when he needed to know.

Opening the closet door, he shuffled gingerly inside and turned on the light. Everything was in order, and he would know, being the closet´s main patron in his attempts to keep his more minor injuries from reaching a certain two enormous furry ears. The stale smell of rubber, cotton and disinfectant settled around him.

Finding the shelf he needed, his hand had barely made contact with the medical tape when his belly did a flop as his eyes passed over to the neighbor supplies.

Furrowing his brows, he looked closer at the shelf.

_That is very strange. . . _

The typical six rows of four stacked bandages, right next to the tape, stared back at him.

Belly nudged his liver.

He looked closer.

Each bandage had been cleaned and neatly rolled after the abuse they had received from the elves two weeks earlier.

Belly whispered to him.

"_Something is off. _

_"It doesn´t look quite right._

_"Is almost as if. . ."_

Upon closer inspection, his brain realized what it was.

There were three rows of 6, and one row of 5.

His eyebrows pushed together as he sifted through his memory to recall if he had recently seen anyone with a bandaged limb.

No one came to mind.

North's mind continued to whirl in circles as he grabbed some tape and used it.

As far as he knew there hadn't been any accidents or unexpected explosions in the workshop.

He used up the whole roll, grabbing another one just to give himself as much time as possible.

Apart from the elves´ short-lived obsession, no one else had been at all connected with the bandages. . .

He finished, adding as much tape as he thought he could get away with and setting the half-empty roll back into its place.

No. No one else had had anything at all to do with the bandages-

"_Unless. . ." _

His chest expanded with a gasp.

His eyes drilled into the bandages once more as his fingers began to squeeze the handles of his crutches.

His belly quieted.

". . .Mikhail Glinka. . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Three minutes later, several yetis frowned at each other and rushed to the side as their boss made his three-legged way past them, taking big, hard steps as he went. His eyes didn´t glance over the toy tables as they usually did, and his face wasn´t scrunched up with glee.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. It wasn't until he reached his office door that he slowed his bull-dozer pace and turned his stiff neck toward them.

"I will receive no visitors-except for _that rabbit_," he seethed through his teeth. "No one else is to touch this door or bother me at all-not even the other guardians."

The workers all nodded numbly, their eyes nailed to him and their jaws loose.

Their boss´s nostrils flared as he took a slow, deep breath.

There was murder in his eyes.

"And, I will not be disturbed by any Christmas business until I come out of this room. Is this very clear?" he demanded, red-faced.

His workers nodded again in shock and glanced at each other to confirm that they were not hearing things.

Santa Claus turned with a scowl, wrenching the door open and slamming it behind him like a gunshot in the night.

The lock rammed into place with a _BAM!_

The next four hours were thick with whispers from yetis and elves alike as they passed the word along.

And yet, the door to North´s office stayed locked shut.

No cookies were delivered in.

No music was playing.

No toy designs came out.

No shadows were seen.

No footsteps were heard.

No sound or sign from Jolly Saint Nick.

Even Rainbowie the elf was confused.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

**_Alright everyone, why do you think North is angry? He has no information that you have not read, so the clues are all there for you_****_. :D_**

_Also, Mikhail Glinka is a composer, and a very good one at that. My favorite song of his is called The Lark on the piano. Y'all should youtube it._

**_Be sure to leave a review with your suspicions! We're going to hang out with Jack for chapter 25, but we'll jump back to North for 26, so you have plenty of time to come up with some theories. _**

**_I can't wait to read what you guys come up with! _**

_**Guest: **I'm so excited to hear what you think about this chapter! These first chapters have moved a little too slow for my liking, but I feel like the ball is finally rolling now! Anyway, yes, Charlie is strangely sentient. He's been with Aster for a very long time, so he does care for him more than he cares for anyone. But we'll see more of that later. You asked if North is going to make jokes when he is with Bunny. Well, had he not made this recent discovery, I think he would. However, based on what he's found out he's not going to be in any kind of mood to be making jokes. _

_Also, you said that you'd like to see a bonding scene with Bunny and the others talking about Primula. Don't worry. There will be bonding. So much bonding! But not for a while. Aster is a tough egg to crack, after all. _

**What do you think?**

_What has North discovered? Why is he so angry? _

**_PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! I CANT WAIT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!_**

_Thanks for your support! _


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